Few can argue that football has gone absolutely mad nowadays, with the amounts being thrown around for players in transfer markets.

It seems like Barcelona aren’t yet satisfied with how they’ve splashed out the £198 million in transfer fees received for Neymar last summer. They spent £97 of those in bringing in Ousmane Dembele, the Borussia Dortmund man who certainly has a lot of talent but is miles away from being the finished product. The above were the top 2 most expensive transfers in the history of football.

Now, Barcelona are ready to spend £132 million to sign Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool. According to Spanish newspaper AS Sport, the Catalans will make a final offer to the Reds, who have thus far been unwilling to let go off their Brazilian starlet.

Coutinho’s proposed move to Barca was one of the most talked about transfer sagas last summer. There were reports of a bid over £100 million for the player, one which Liverpool refused to respond to. The 25 year-old has returned to the pitch and has been one of the standout players for Jurgen Klopp, netting 10 times in all competitions thus far. On current form, his market value will only continue to inflate.

Barcelona are looking to test the Premier League side’s resolve once again, in the hope that they will finally yield. Dembele’s start to life at the Nou Camp has been foiled by injury, and Gerard Delofeu has been playing in the position vacated by Neymar. The club are doing well thus far this season, sitting comfortably atop the La Liga table and finishing group winners in the Champions League as well. There is however a feeling that they are lacking some kind of spark at the moment, when pitted against the other European giants. A dominant performance in this weekend’s El Clasico however, could completely prove that wrong.

The Coutinho transfer story is set to continue next month and it will be a very interesting one to follow indeed. The player will be intent on first-team football with the World Cup coming up. Those demands are certainly being met at Liverpool, but the Reds’ mouths are set to be dripping when the prospect of earning £132 million for the player hits the table.