LONDON • Jurgen Klopp has insisted Liverpool will not accept any bid for Philippe Coutinho after the club rejected an improved £90 million (S$159.48 million) offer for the Brazil playmaker.

Barcelona returned with their latest bid for the 25-year-old on Wednesday, having had an offer of £72 million rejected last month. Speaking to Sky Germany yesterday, Klopp was adamant that Liverpool are committed to retaining their best players.

"Liverpool is not a club that has to sell players. That is set in stone. So what they offer in the end doesn't matter," the German said.

"From a financial standpoint, there is no price limit to let him go. No price at which we are ready to give in. Our goal is to have the best possible team. So we want to keep our guys and add new ones."

In Germany, Borussia Dortmund manager Peter Bosz revealed that Ousmane Dembele missed a training session without permission yesterday, with reports suggesting that the 20-year-old forward could join Barcelona.

The France international has been suspended by the club until next week and will miss tomorrow's German Cup first round at sixth-tier club Rielasingen-Arlen.

Negotiations between Barca and Dortmund have been ongoing for several days, with the German side insistent that they would not accept less than €150 million (S$239.69 million) for the player they signed from Rennes last summer for a 10th of that cost.

THE GUARDIAN, REUTERS