Coutinho Could Return Back to Premier League and Join Manchester United

Despite being a part of Barcelona team for over a year, Philippe Coutinho reportedly still has trouble settling in the Catalan capital, which is why it’s said Coutinho is desperately seeking his way out of Spain and back to England.

Philippe Coutinho of FC Barcelona
BARCELONA, SPAIN – MARCH 09: Philippe Coutinho of FC Barcelona with the ball during the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Rayo Vallecano de Madrid at Camp Nou on March 09, 2019 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)

Since arriving at Barcelona in January 2018, Phillipe Coutinho has failed to justify his enormous fee of £121.50m with only 4 goals and 2 assists in 25 LaLiga matches this season. Given his lack of form and confidence, it’s still unclear how much will Barcelona be able to sell him for, however, one thing is for sure, Coutinho proved to be a bad investment.

The Brazilian midfielder has struggled to adapt to Barcelona playstyle and with his subpar performance, there is clearly some dissatisfaction among fans who showed their frustrations in the match between Barcelona and Rayo Vallecano, when numerous fans whistled at him. While we did see him, teammates, trying to protect him, it’s not a nice thing to see. When fans are not satisfied with a player and show it in a way they did, his morale and will to represent the club slowly decline until a player requests a trade. Which is what we are looking at now in the case of Coutinho.

There are no reports of Barcelona wanting to get rid of him, however, it was Coutinho himself, who expressed his desire to leave Spain and return to England, where he spent almost 5 years with Liverpool. It is thought he has already contacted some of the Manchester United players to help him with his transfer out of Barcelona. We assume he chose Manchester United because he knew he cannot re-join Liverpool given the manner he left the Reds. The Mirror reported United are prepared to offer around £100m, which is far less than what Barcelona paid for this Brazilian midfielder, however still a huge sum of money.

Coutinho is linked with Manchester United, but there are of course other football heavyweights that seek to add the 26-year old to their team. Most notably PSG, who were linked with Coutinho even before he decided to leave for Barcelona, but the deal failed to go through. While I do expect them to make a great offer, something tells me Coutinho wants to travel back to England, where he spent half of his football career.

Going back to the Manchester United offer. If Coutinho ends up joining the Red Devils, (which he seems like he will) I am sure it will stir up a lot of drama and angry faces among Liverpool supporters. Not only would it mark him as a “traitor” who joined the rival club, Liverpool as a club would also lose a lot of money due to some bonus clauses which were included in a deal when Coutinho was sold to Barcelona in 2013. Liverpool are due to earn £4.4million each time Coutinho makes 25 LaLiga appearances up to 100. Additionally, Liverpool will make £4.4million if Barcelona ends up qualifying for the Champions League this season, to which they will and additional £4.4million if Barcelona manages to win the competition, which they are also on a good way of achieving. But if they don’t and Coutinho decides to move to another club, the potential clause will cease to exist, ultimately resulting in a £17.6million loss for Liverpool.

It all points towards Coutinho departure, with numerous respectable news sources reporting he has been talking with Manchester United players. Being a player of his quality, I believe they would all welcome him among their ranks, which does not surprise me. Coutinho is an exceptional player who would be a huge addition to any team, either PSG, United or any other team that will express their desires to bring Coutinho to their squad.

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