Former Barcelona star Philippe Coutinho rubbishes exit rumours at Aston Villa

Since joining Barcelona from Liverpool in 2018, it’s safe to say that Philippe Coutinho’s career has been difficult. He struggled to justify the huge transfer fee that the Blaugrana paid, and arguably had more success at a loan move to Bayern Munich than at his parent club.

He moved to Aston Villa last winter in a bid to revitalise his career. Having joined on an initial loan deal, the Brazilian impressed at Villa Park and was subsequently signed permanently by then-manager Steven Gerrard.

However, this season has been tough for Coutinho. He has struggled to emulate his form from the second half of last season, which has seen him lose his place in the team. On top of that, Gerrard has lost his job and been replaced by former Sevilla and Villarreal head coach Unai Emery, who is reportedly not a fan of the Brazilian.

Rumours have emerged that Coutinho’s current club are looking to move him on, with clubs in his homeland said to be interested. However, the player himself has addressed the speculation of his Instagram account. He dismissed the rumours in bullish fashion.

“In the last few days I have seen a lot of news with my name and although there is some good, the problem is that some lies have started and I am here to clarify them. At no time has there been any kind of conversation of mine asking to leave the club, because I am happy here and my family too.

“My only goal now is to recover from the injury and to work as hard as possible every day, in order to play at the highest level and help the club and my teammates meet our goals.”

Barcelona will be hoping that Coutinho can return to form, with the club holding a guaranteed 50% cut of any profit that Aston Villa were to make from the player’s sale. However, having been sold for 20m, it seems unlikely that the Blaugrana will see any money any time soon, if at all.