Barcelona must pay a €100m premium on top of any agreed transfer fee if they are to sign a player from Liverpool before 2020.
This unique clause between the clubs was agreed as part of the £142m deal to take Philippe Coutinho to Camp Nou from Anfield in January.
Relations between the two clubs became notably strained during the Spanish champions’ long-running pursuit of the Reds’ former No.10.
And, though Jurgen Klopp eventually relented in allowing Coutinho to leave mid-season, sporting director Michael Edwards was keen to dissuade Barca from similar raids in future.
The Catalan club have poached Javier Mascherano and Luis Suarez (below) from Merseyside in recent years and they, along with Real Madrid, are consistently touted as likely suitors for Liverpool’s star men.
However, thanks to Edwards’ negotiating skills, they will now be unable to bring in players from Anfield at reasonable cost until the mid-season window of the 2019-20 campaign.
The news effectively rules Barcelona out of the running for Reds winger Sadio Mane, who is yet to sign a new contract with the club.
