Liverpool could miss out on a £4.4m payout related to the sale of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona, according to reports.
The Brazil international moved to the Camp Nou for an initial fee of £105m in January 2018.
The deal also included various clauses and bonuses, with the total sum potentially rising as high as £142m.
Coutinho has struggled to replicate his Liverpool form in La Liga, and was even loaned out to Bayern Munich last season.
In an embarrassing twist of fate, Coutinho scored against Barcelona in Bayern’s stunning 8-2 thrashing of the Catalan club in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Coutinho returned to the Camp Nou last summer and initially looked set to become a regular under Ronald Koeman.
However, the attacking midfielder has only started eight matches in La Liga so far this season, with injury restricting his involvement.
And with Barcelona in financial disarray amid the coronavirus pandemic, they are looking to avoid a payment of £4.4m that could be due to Liverpool.
The Reds will be entitled to the sum if Coutinho makes five more appearances for the club.
But Barcelona are prepared to keep the Brazilian out of the team for the rest of the campaign to avoid triggering the clause, according to the Daily Star.
Coutinho is out until April at the earliest after undergoing knee surgery at the start of January.
And with the club’s debt standing at more than €1bn, Barcelona are not in any rush to welcome Coutinho back to the first team.
That will come as a blow to Liverpool, whose own finances have taken a hit in the era of matches being played behind closed doors.
Jurgen Klopp’s side return to action against Leicester in the Premier League on Saturday.
They will then resume their Champions League campaign next week with the first leg of their last-16 tie with RB Leipzig.
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