Real Madrid's boardroom have scoffed at Barcelona's battle to land Liverpool midfield ace Philippe Coutinho, it has been revealed.

Those inside the Real brainstrust have dubbed Coutinho 'Andre Gomes Mk II' and are convinced Barca are over-paying and over-rating the Brazilian.

If a deal is done today, Barca will have to part with at least €150m, which has amazed Real president Florentino Perez and his directors.

Diario Gol says Real rejected Coutinho when offered the midfielder several years ago and recall he made little impact when with Espanyol.

They also question where Coutinho will fit in Barca's system, as he's not a natural attacker like Neymar, nor a genuine midfielder like captain Andres Iniesta.

Florentino has confided to friends he sees Barca making the same mistakes as Joan Gaspart did with the money Real paid for Luis Figo, when the former Blaugrana president failed to put the cash raised to good use.