A report from Spanish outlet Marca has today provided an insight into the potential financial impact of Barcelona being unable to find a new club for Philippe Coutinho this summer.
Coutinho struggling
Following a lengthy back-and-forth between Barca and Liverpool, Brazilian international Coutinho finally swapped Anfield for the Camp Nou in January of 2018.
The Blaugrana splashed out a reported £142 million on the attack-minded midfielder’s signature, in what, at the time, was viewed as a major coup.
As has been widely-documented, however, Barca have not exactly reaped the rewards of their massive outlay over the years since.
Coutinho largely struggled to replicate his previous brilliance during his time in Catalunya, looking uncharacteristically bereft of confidence when donning the colours of the La Liga champions.
In fact, so badly did Coutinho falter over the 2nd-half of last season, that the Barcelona hierarchy came to the decision to farm the 27-year-old out on loan for the 2019/20 campaign.
Coutinho’s time with Bayern Munich, though, has since also proven largely-underwhelming, with reports having hinted that the Bavarians are unlikely to take up their option to buy on the South American.
As such, Coutinho’s future, at present, remains completely up in the air.
Liverpool windfall incoming?
While Coutinho’s career has, on an individual level, taken something of a nosedive since his departure from Anfield, Liverpool, on the other hand, have of course gone from strength-to-strength.
The Reds have been to a pair of Champions League finals since the exit of their former star man, with a Premier League title also within touching distance.
And, if the latest speculation stemming from the Spanish media is to be believed, the European champions may yet be set to secure a further financial windfall as part of the deal which sent Coutinho to the Camp Nou.
As outlined above, Marca have today provided an insight into the financial standing between Liverpool and Barcelona.
The former are said to have forked over €135 million for Coutinho to this point, in the form of €120 million paid up front two years ago, and a further 15 million in various bonuses.
With Barcelona looking increasingly unlikely to find a new permanent home for their struggling attacker this summer, though, amid both the financial crisis brought forth by COVID-19 and rumoured demands of €100 million, the La Liga champions could yet be forced to hand Liverpool another significant sum.
As things stand, Coutinho has made a total of 76 appearances for Barca.
Marca claim that, if this figure reaches 100, the Spanish giants will, as part of their agreement with Liverpool, owe another €20 million.
Of course, if the Brazilian international spends next season as part of Quique Setien’s squad (an increasing possibility), it appears altogether unlikely that the Barcelona boss would opt to use a player of Coutinho’s talents on as few as 24 occasions.
As a result, Liverpool could well be set for an unexpected financial boost over the coming year.
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