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Jurgen Klopp insists he’s been too busy firefighting to be angry at Barcelona for their aggressive pursuit of Philippe Coutinho.

Despite being told that Coutinho wasn’t for sale, the Catalan giants refused to take no for an answer this summer - tabling bids of £72million, £90million and £118million for the Brazil international.

Offers have been made on the eve of key matches, creating an unwanted distraction for the Reds manager, although talk of a fourth bid of £138million earlier this week failed to materialise.

Klopp says his focus has been on how best to deal with the absence of Coutinho, who has been sidelined by a back problem as he tried to force a move. That headache was intensified by the loss of Adam Lallana to a thigh injury.

“To be disappointed about different things, you need to have expectations,” Klopp said.

“I don’t have expectations, I don’t think about other clubs to be honest.

“We all have our own problems. If we think we have to do something, we do it.

“In this moment I would have preferred we finished our business six weeks ago. Let all the rest of the world do what they do. It’s getting more and more different and difficult.

“I don’t judge what other clubs are doing. I am not sure there was one easy day since we started pre-season. Always something changes.

“All the discussions about Phil and then in the same moment Adam Lallana gets injured. It was like ‘what?’ I don’t think anyone can expect that we are prepared for this. The team have handled it all brilliantly so far.”

Coutinho hasn’t played for the Reds since last month’s Audi Cup clash with Bayern Munich but Klopp still expects him to go away on international duty next week. Staff from the Brazilian FA will determine whether he’s fit enough to feature in their World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Colombia.

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Asked if Coutinho would play for his country, Klopp said: “If he goes there and can train, I don’t think he can, but they will decide.

“It’s in the hands of the specific FA. They make their own decisions.

"Are we always happy with things like that? No, not always in the past. Sometimes players come back after a small injury, go to their national team and play two games. But it’s the same procedure as always.”