da bet7： This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…
da dobrowin： Philippe Coutinho’s Barcelona career ended up turning into a true nightmare. Not long after his big transfer from Liverpool, the Brazilian superstar was shipped off on loan to Bayern Munich.
And if recent reports from AS are true, Barcelona won’t be looking to put him in the famous red and blue kit again.
What’s the word, then?
It took Barcelona an incredible sum of £142m to get their man from Liverpool, which makes this failed project even worse than it already is.
Coutinho ended up playing a total of 76 games for the Blaugrana, scoring 21 goals and assisting further 11 in the process.
Statistically, his short stay at the Catalan capital was not a disaster but it’s also a far cry from what such a price tag and the title of the most expensive signing in Barcelona’s history would demand.
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On the pitch, Coutinho never really found his groove and since he was largely mismanaged as well, something we’ve already discussed before, his chances of success were rather slim.
And this is also unlikely to change in the future. For that reason, it would be for the best if the club and the player parted ways next year, and if the reports from AS are true, that seems to be Barcelona’s agenda as well.
The outlet does mention that the Catalan have already agreed a buyout clause for the Brazilian that states Bayern can purchase him for €120m (£103.3m), but also mentions that the clubs will sit down to clarify the terms of the agreement.
This could mean that the figure could be decreased so the deal does go through in the end, and failing that the Catalans may have to turn to alternative suitors.
Either way, Barcelona should be looking to cash in on the player while they still can.
Point of no return
Coutinho has only started his adventure over in Germany but it didn’t really take long for him to show what he’s truly capable of when utilised correctly.
The little Brazilian dropped some masterful performances in the first couple of games played for Bayern and that immediately proved that it was not really his form but rather the system that was the problem.
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In Barcelona, he couldn’t play in his favourite position because it was occupied by Lionel Messi and for that reason, Valverde decided to use him as a left-winger, a position that didn’t suit him at all.
With his performances dipping, so did the club’s form and separation was inevitable.
But that also means that the problem would still persist if Coutinho was to return next summer. Even if he was to play in top form, it’s unlikely that these issues would be ironed out.
Not to mention that Barcelona still reportedly owe about £81.9m to Liverpool for various add-ons included in Coutinho’s contract.
But if the Blaugrana were to sell the Brazilian before those add-ons were ever met, they could save a lot of money in the process.
For that reason, it seems that we have already reached a point of no return for Coutinho and Barca.