Paris Saint-Germain want to pay a world record fee for Philippe Coutinho

PSG are getting the chequebook out again

Paris Saint-Germain want to sign Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona, according to Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo.  The French club have not yet completed their mission of winning the Champions League and believe it is key to keep hold of Neymar and keep him happy to have the best chance of achieving that goal. Signing Coutinho would be primarily a move to keep Neymar happy, signing a player with whom he has been close friends for many years since the pair played together in Brazil's youth teams. It would also act as a safety net, in case Neymar forced a move away, likely to Real Madrid. According to the report in Mundo Deportivo, PSG have made an offer of €270m to Coutinho's agent, but not yet to Barcelona. This comes just one year after the Qatari owned club smashed the world record transfer fee to sign Neymar from Barcelona for €220m. Coutinho only joined Barcelona from Liverpool in January this year, and is viewed by the La Liga champions as the successor to Andrés Iniesta, who has just bid farewell to European football, joining Japanese club Vissel Kobe. Paris Saint-Germain were recently cleared of breaking UEFA's financial fair play regulations after they came under scrutiny for signing both Neymar and Kylian Mbappé in the same summer.