Barca confirm Coutinho signing

MADRID -- FC Barcelona on Saturday confirmed the signing of Liverpool's Brazilian attacking midfielder Phillipe Coutinho.

Coutinho joins Barca in a five and a half year deal thought to have cost the Catalan club around 140 million euros.

He has been given a buyout clause of 400 million euros and could make his debut in the King's Cup next week at home to Celta Vigo.

The signing means that Barca have managed to tie down the two targets they identified following Neymar's departure to Paris Saint Germain in the summer, with Ousmane Dembele joining in the summer.

Countinho has previously played for Barca's neighbors, Espanyol and the club views him as the long-term successor for the veteran Andres Iniesta.