That was rejected back in August but now a move has been done and Coutinho will be unveiled at Barca next week.
Balague lifted the lid on the situation and said:"There is a story that Liverpool, in the last few minutes in August, said '€200m and you can take him'.
"Barcelona have been repeating this and the Barcelona press have been repeating this and he would have gone for €200m - it's a lie.
"The people in the middle that told Barcelona for €200m we almost got him, we must keep insisting, he wants to go... it was a way of keeping the whole thing alive.
"Liverpool said it's a no because they wanted to show their strength so when Firmino and Mane say they want to go as well, they can say no.
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GETTY
Philippe Coutinho has joined Barcelona for £142m
"Also the replacements of Xabi Alonso, Luis Suarez and Javier Mascherano were hard and they needed to be a little bit prepared.
"They got six more months of Coutinho and he's been very professional for these months."
Coutinho will sign a five-and-half year deal at the Nou Camp with a buyout clause of £355m.
Speaking as Liverpool announced the deal, Jurgen Klopp said: "It is with great reluctance that we – as a team and club – prepare to say farewell to a good friend, a wonderful person and a fantastic player in Philippe Coutinho.
“It is no secret that Philippe has wanted this move to happen since July, when Barcelona first made their interest known.
“Philippe was insistent with me, the owners and even his teammates this was a move he was desperate to make happen.
“Despite that, we managed to keep the player here beyond the summer window, hoping that we would be able to persuade him to stay and be part of what we are looking to do.
“I can tell the Liverpool supporters that we, as a club, have done everything within our means to convince Philippe that remaining part of LFC was as attractive as moving to Spain, but he is 100 per cent certain his future – and that of his family – belongs at Barcelona. It is his dream and I am now convinced there is nothing left at our disposal to change his mind."