- Soumik Banerjee
Barcelona News: Philippe Coutinho has effectively ended his nightmare with the Blaugrana. The midfielder has permanently signed with Aston Villa for around £17 million.
The Blaugrana signed Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool in 2018 for a whopping £142 million. But things didn’t work out for the Spanish giants as the Brazilian midfielder failed to adjust to life in Spain.
Owing to this, Barcelona sent Coutinho out on loan at Bayern Munich where he incidentally won the UEFA Champions League. But the Brazilian against failed to impress since returning from his loan move in June 2019.
Having been loaned to Aston Villa in January, Philippe Coutinho has soon become an important player for the Midlands club. Hence it is no surprise that the Premier League club has now signed the midfielder permanently.
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Barcelona News: Philippe Coutinho will continue playing in the Premier League following his loan period with Aston Villa. The Villains have completed a long-term deal for the Brazilian.
As per the Mirror, Aston Villa have signed Philippe Coutinho on a four-year deal. The Brazilian will earn around £125,000-per-week for his services. This is a significant pay cut when compared to his current salary with the Spanish Giants.
Barcelona put out a statement confirming Coutinho’s departure on Thursday. The two clubs were reportedly in talks for the past week. The Blaugrana had a £40 million buy-out clause written on the player’s loan contract but Aston Villa managed to bring it down to £17 million after negotiations.
After signing permanently with Aston Villa, Philippe Coutinho said, “I am really happy and excited about the present and future. I believe so much in the Villa squad. I know that we can achieve really good things next year and I am excited for the next season already.”
Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard also expressed his delight after the club signed Philippe Coutinho permanently. The former Liverpool duo have enjoyed a great relationship since their playing days. Gerrard called Coutinho a “role model” and claimed that the Brazilian would immensely help the club.
Coutinho leaves Barcelona after scoring 26 goals in 106 appearances for the club. The Brazilian helped the Blaugrana win two LaLiga titles among various other accolades during his tenure.
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Philippe Coutinho can easily be classified as a Premier League legend. The Brazilian midfielder scored 54 goals in 201 games in all competitions for Liverpool. Hence he is certainly no stranger to English football.
With Aston Villa, Coutinho has scored 4 goals and provided 3 assists in 16 Premier League games thus far. Hence the Brazilian would certainly be looking to increase his output further as he has committed to Villa’s project for the next four years.