Barça sells Coutinho to Aston Villa for 20 million

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Philippe Coutinho He is no longer a Barça player. The most expensive signing in the history of the club (120 million euros plus 40 in easily compliant variables were paid to Liverpool in January 2018) has become a ruinous business. And now, forced by the distressing economic situation that is shaking Barça, he is letting go of the Brazilian.

He sells it to Aston Villa, where he has been on loan since this past winter market, for 20 million, six times less than what it cost just over four years ago, demonstrating the mistake, both sporting and economic, that his hiring entailed. And the Barça club reserves 50% “of the surplus value of a future sale of the player.”

Not only does Laporta’s board get those 20 million, essential in times as miserable as those the club is experiencing, but Coutinho’s file is saved, one of the highest in the Camp Nou locker room. In this way, he will release salary mass, an essential factor to fit into the fair play established by the League, opening the registration to players such as Kessie (Milan) and Christensen (Chelsea), both will arrive from July 1 at zero cost.

He came to replace Iniesta (January-2018), but has left without leaving any trace at the Camp Nou

Coutinho came to replace Iniesta, who left the Camp Nou in the summer of 2018. But he never left any trace. Overcome by pressure and punished by injuries, the Brazilian conveyed a melancholy air, far beyond the discreet figures that projected his performance (106 games, 25 goals and 14 assists).

The problem is that Coutinho was never a solution for Barça. Rather it was a real problem. Due to his fit in the team, it was not known if he was inside, extreme or false extreme, and, above all, because he never conveyed a sense of reliability and impact. He even got angry with the Camp Nou crowd when he scored a goal, tired as he was of receiving so much criticism.

He barely lasted a year and a half at Barça, who soon sought a loan to Bayern Munich, where he even won the Champions League by participating, and actively, in the 2-8 win against Setién’s team that certified the end of a Barça era. He returned the Brazilian to Camp Nou after answering Koeman’s call and, again, he resisted again for a year and a half, looking for a second loan.

He stays in the Premier

Back to the Premier, the League where Coutinho has best expressed his talent, and England, the country where he has felt most comfortable. Steven Gerrard, his old partner at Liverpool, who is the current manager of Aston Villa, made room for him to rediscover the sensations that he never had when he wore the Barça shirt.

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The Brazilian has played 16 games in this Premier, scoring four goals and giving away three assists. Tired of so much movement because in four and a half years Coutinho has played for three clubs (Barça, Bayern and Aston Villa) he wants a bit of stability.

Disappeared from the first level of world football, and about to turn 30 (he will do so on June 12), he does not want to return to the Camp Nou. Nor do they want him at Barcelona, ​​which gets rid of a serious economic problem assuming, yes, that the business has turned out fatal.



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