Barca face race to convert Coutinho's passport to Portuguese

Philippe Coutinho is at risk of being left on the sidelines for Barcelona's Spanish Super Cup match against Sevilla on Sunday, unless the club can fix their non-EU player quota.

La Liga and the Super Cup only allow three non-EU players to be included in any matchday squad and Coutinho is registered with a Brazilian passport, Spanish publication Marca say.

Competing with new signings Arturo Vidal (Chile) and Brazilian pair Malcom and Arthur Melo, the plan is for Coutinho to switch to Portuguese registration, the country of his wife.

Coutinho’s wife, Aine, is Portuguese and the player is able to register as a Portuguese citizen after three years of marriage.

It is the same method of nationality change that Luis Suarez undertook in 2014, shortly after joining the club.

Suarez is married to an Italian, Sofia Balbi, and the Uruguayan was able to get Italian citizenship and free up a non-EU space in Barca’s squad to help comply with the stringent rules.

Manager Ernesto Valverde is likely to want to give all three signings minutes in the Morocco match prior to the beginning of their La Liga title defence and failure to accelerate Coutinho through the registration process could see him miss out.

The Catalan giants currently have six players in the squad on non-EU passports but both Yerry Mina and Marlon Santos are expected to depart this summer.

Mina skipped Tuesday's training session as he looks to ensure a move to the Premier League, whose transfer window closes on Thursday, earlier than other European leagues, with Everton having agreed a fee for the Colombian.

Santos, meanwhile, has been courted by a number of sides in Italy with Serie A side Sassuolo keen on bringing him to the club.