Philippe Coutinho has been offered Barcelona's historic No 10 squad number – which has just been vacated by the legendary Lionel Messi.
The former Liverpool star was assigned the No 14 shirt by Barca last season, making as many appearances under Ronald Koeman.
Coutinho was stripped of his shirt number earlier last week amid reported interest from Lazio as his No 14 was given to Rey Manaj, who has been promoted from the B team.
The 29-year-old midfielder is still to be given a squad number this season, but the prospect of taking Messi's No 10 jersey isn't something that necessarily appeals to Coutinho.
Lazio were reported to be interested in a loan move for the attacking midfielder with the option to buy him permanently thereafter for £25million.
While the Spanish giants were looking to offload Coutinho in a swap deal with Arsenal, that would see the Gunners captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang arrive at the Nou Camp, according to reports.
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Nevertheless, it appears Nou Camp are keen to keep hold of the Brazilian ahead of the transfer deadline on August 31.
This article was most recently revised and updated 2 years ago
