Philippe Coutinho, on loan to Aston Villa until the end of the season

Coutinho against Canales, during the game between Barcelona and Betis this season.LLUIS GENE (AFP)

Philippe Coutinho (Rio de Janeiro, 29 years old) returns to the Premier League. The Brazilian, the most expensive signing in the history of Barcelona - the Barça club agreed to 120 million, plus 40 in variables with Liverpool in the 2018 winter market - will play at Aston Villa until the end of the season. The Barcelona entity did not clarify if it will charge any amount for the transfer of the carioca, but it did specify that the Birmingham team will take over part of the player's file. An essential issue for the economy of Barcelona, ​​which needs to lower the salary mass to be able to register the last signing, Ferran Torres. The Aston Villa, in addition, saves a purchase option for Coutinho.

Last Monday, in the presentation of Ferran Torres as a new Barcelona player, the director of football, Mateu Alemany, explained how the situation of the Barça club was with respect to the salary limit imposed by LaLiga. “The reality is that when we decided to sign Ferran Torres, we did not have the salary limit. We have been working in different ways and we are convinced that we will achieve it before Sunday. It is what we have in mind ”, assured the Barça executive. "If we can get rid of Coutinho and some other player, we have the problem solved," they warned from the economic area.

In September, LaLiga put Barcelona's salary limit at 97.9 million. However, the club spends 470 million on salaries, according to the budget for the 2021-2022 campaign. In this way, in order to register new players, Barça must abide by the 1x4 law: release four euros of salary mass to be able to register one. For this reason, in the sports area of ​​Barcelona it was clear that the designated player was Coutinho, who ends his contract in June 2023, and who has one of the highest salaries in the squad.

Coutinho arrived at Barcelona in January 2018. At that time, the Barça club was looking to replace Neymar (he left for PSG in August 2017) after hiring Dembélé.

But the Brazilian's football never finished waking up at the Camp Nou.

In the 2019-2020 season he played on loan at Bayern Munich.

And now repeat the same formula.

In Barcelona, ​​Coutinho played 106 games, scored 25 goals and distributed 14 goal passes.

He returns to the Premier, where he shone for Liverpool (54 goals and 45 assists) between 2013 and 2018.

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