On Thursday, the Spanish newspaper Sport published that Philippe Coutinho, down in the Barcelona, it would have interest in returning to Brazil to act more regularly and guarantee a spot in the World Cup. palm trees e Flamengo were presented as possible midfielder destinations.
Third most expensive signing in football history, Coutinho left the Liverpool in January 2018 and was purchased by Barcelona for €135 million (R$851.7 million currently). Despite the astronomical value, the player did not establish himself in the Catalan team, suffered with injuries and comes from fickle seasons.
In total, he played 106 games with the Barça shirt, scoring 25 goals and 14 assists. After losing space, it was lent to Bayern Munchen, where he had a little more prominence: he played 38 games, scored 11 times and made nine decisive passes.
Back in Spain, however, the Brazilian’s performance dropped again. This season, for example, he took the field on 16 occasions and scored two goals. He has started in just five duels for Xavi Hernández’s team, who regularly chooses to cast young men trained at the base.
Despite the possible transfer mentioned, Coutinho’s negotiation is seen as extremely complicated. That’s because the 29-year-old earns around 15 million euros ($94.6 million) per season.
According to Spanish media, Barça needs to cut the payroll to sign Ferran Torres, the club’s latest signing. Thus, the Brazilian team – whether it be Palmeiras or Flamengo – would have to bear a considerable part of the attacking midfielder’s salary, making the transaction difficult. In addition, Verdão has already highlighted, through its president Leila Pereira, that it intends to focus on hiring young people.
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