PSG Reportedly Launch €270M Offer for Barcelona Star Philippe Coutinho

Paris Saint-Germain have reportedly made a €270 million (£238.5 million) offer to a representative of Barcelona star Philippe Coutinho in the hope that his signing will convince Neymar to stay at the club.

The French giants are yet to contact Barca directly, but Mundo Deportivo (h/t Sport Witness' Naveen Ullal) reported one of Coutinho's agents has been alerted to the prospect of a potential new world-record deal.

Not content with luring one Brazilian megastar from the Camp Nou, PSG are said to have revived their interest in Coutinho, whom they were closely linked with prior to his switch to Catalonia from Liverpool in January.

The 26-year-old is only six months into a five-and-a-half-year contract at the Camp Nou, leaving Barca in no rush to sell, and his form for club and country has only made him a more valuable piece of Ernesto Valverde's puzzle, per Goal:

According to the report, Neymar's uncertain status in Paris has caused concern with his employers, who feel signing childhood friend Coutinho would be one way to convince him his future lies at the Parc des Princes.

However, it concludes by saying Barca's newest midfield gem wants to stay with the Blaugrana, which is of little wonder given the immediate success he enjoyed in La Liga following his winter switch.

Only Lionel Messi averaged more dribbles per game (5.1) than Coutinho at Barcelona last term (2.6), per WhoScored.com, as the Brazilian scored eight goals and recorded five assists in 18 La Liga appearances.

That form carried on to the international stage, and Coutinho looked like one of the best players at the 2018 FIFA World Cup prior to their 2-1 quarter-final defeat to Belgium on Friday.

The Daily Mirror's Martin Domin wrote that PSG's interest remains despite the club already being under investigation by UEFA for a possible breach of financial fair play laws. The transfers of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe combined have cost the club more than £350 million over the past year.

The deal would present Barca with the opportunity to turn a swift profit on Coutinho, who cost them £142 million in January, per Domin, and has been touted as the heir to Andres Iniesta, who has left the club for Japanese outfit Vissel Kobe.

Boosting the club's coffers would be the most obvious reason for Barcelona to sell their new star man. However, Paulinho's recent sale back to Guangzhou Evergrande has helped in that department, per Milanese journalist Tancredi Palmeri:

As long as the player wants to remain at the club, there's little reason to believe the Blaugrana would open up to the idea of selling Coutinho at this early stage. And in any case, PSG would first need to submit the offer with the club and not just the player's representation before any negotiations could commence.

Neymar's future at the Parc des Princes may not be assured as things stand, but PSG may need to seek other avenues to help persuade their Selecao star to stay.