How useful is Liverpool’s agreed transfer clause with Barcelona?

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Liverpool did very well out of the deal that took Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona and it emerged yesterday that they have an agreement in place to ensure that they continue to profit from it up until 2020.

The Reds have reportedly put in place and agreement with the Catalans that they must pay a 100 million euro (£89m) premium on any player they wish to lure away from Anfield to the Nou Camp until the end of the 2019/20 season.

The theory is that Barca will be priced out of buying any of the club’s superstars in the near future; weakening the threat from one of the few clubs in Europe who can realistically poach their players away.

But how useful is it in practical terms? It is easy to see how the clause would work for players who have a release clause written into their contract.

Liverpool could insist that it would take the extra money to trigger the clause and speak to the player; but most don’t have a set transfer value.

What is to stop Barcelona saying they value the player at a lesser amount, adding £89m to it and bidding that?

Of course Liverpool would still get a monster fee, but it does not provide a cast-iron barrier between Barcelona and their top talent.