Liverpool asked Barcelona to “stop harassing Philippe Coutinho” during the Catalans’ protracted pursuit of the Brazilian during the summer transfer window, leaked emails appear to show.

Working in tandem with the whistleblowing website Football Leaks, which has previously exposed corruption within the sport, German newspaper Der Spiegel published correspondence between the two clubs.

Barcelona made three bids for Coutinho over the summer but Liverpool held their ground, insisting that the midfielder was not for sale.

According to Der Spiegel’s leak, the emails show that the first offer for the 25-year-old – around £72m – was rejected on July 20, with Liverpool adding that the player was “not for sale at any price”.

Barca returned with a bid of £90m in early August at which point Michael Edwards, Liverpool’s sporting director, asked the La Liga club to “stop harassing Coutinho”.

"I ask you amicably to stop harassing Coutinho publicly and privately. No amount of money will change our minds," the email claims via Der Spiegel.

The emails also show that Liverpool did not ask for £183m for Coutinho in the latter stages of the transfer window, as had been claimed.