Due to their disastrous financial situation, La Liga giants Barcelona had to part ways with superstar Lionel Messi and are expected to do the same with a number of other players. Surprisingly, however, attacking midfielder Philippe Coutinho won’t be part of the departure list.
Coutinho has been long viewed as one of the main candidates for Barcelona exit, considering he underperformed at Camp Nou since joining the club in a $160 million record transfer from Liverpool. The club has been trying to sell him for some time now, even sending him on loan to Bayern Munich in 2019-20, but failed to find any takers.
But after Messi left to join PSG in a shocking move, Barca reportedly warmed up to the idea of keeping Coutinho. Manager Ronald Koeman is ready to give the 29-year-old another chance to succeed in Spain and has confirmed this in a recent chat with reporters.
“For me, he’s a great player, and he can be important for Barca,” said Koeman during a press conference on Friday. “I am absolutely counting on him for this season.”
According to reports, Coutinho recently attracted interest from Seria A side AC Milan while Premier League’s Arsenal also briefly considered making a run for him before landing Martin Odegaard. Still, Barca told the clubs that they won’t sell the Brazilian unless they receive a big offer.
Coutinho has been out since December with a knee injury but is expected to return to action in the coming weeks. He has played 90 games for Barcelona in all competitions so far, scoring 23 goals and adding 14 assists.
