Manchester United were offered Philippe Coutinho by Barcelona, as the Catalan club desperately look for a buyer for their £142million flop.
But the Red Devils - among a group of clubs waiting to see whether they would secure Champions League football before making any transfer-related decisions - have snubbed the opportunity.
Coutinho joined Barcelona in 2018, but was sent out on loan to Bayern Munich this season and is set to return to Spain this summer ahead of the new campaign.
Barcelona are feeling the financial squeeze caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and Coutinho is at the top of the queue of players to be sold.
Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu recently spoke to Mundo Deportivo about the dire financial situation at the club.
"We saw that there was a pandemic worldwide and said that it would be a complex summer with swap deals, and that's what is happening," he said. "Since March 14 we have not received a euro. We have missed out on €200m (£182m/$233m). €200m!
"We have recovered a lot by reducing wages and using ERTE's (Temporary Employment Regulation File, with the government paying 70 per cent of wages).
"We have had to close the shops and the museum, there have been no ticket sales. We have paid back the ticket money for matches fans couldn't attend. €200m is a big blow.
"This pandemic will have effects for two or three seasons. Nobody should think that things will be fixed by next season. The great financial gurus talk about four years, but I think football will go faster."
According to Spanish publication Sport, Manchester City and Chelsea were also offered Coutinho and both snubbed signing him.
The three remaining clubs in the running are now Arsenal, Tottenham and Leicester City, after Coutinho's agent Kia Joorabchian confirmed the former Liverpool midfielder wants to return to the Premier League.
Barcelona would rather sell Coutinho - although they know they won't get anything close to what they paid for him - but are also open to the idea of loaning him out again.
The cost for any club to do so would be €20m (£18m) for the season, as well as an additional €10m (£9m) to cover the Brazilian's wages.
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