Philippe Coutinho continues his career with Aston Villa. The Brazilian playmaker comes over from FC Barcelona and signs a contract until mid-2026 with the middle engine in the Premier League. Barcelona confirmed on Thursday that it will receive €20 million from Villa, plus 50 percent of future transfer proceeds.
The 29-year-old Coutinho was surprisingly taken over by Aston Villa on a rental basis from Barcelona at the beginning of this year, with an option to buy. The club from Birmingham has now made use of it. So far, the attacking midfielder has made 16 league appearances and scored four goals for Villa.
“This is a brilliant asset to Aston Villa,” coach Steven Gerrard told Aston Villa’s website. “Phil is a model pro and clearly has an impact on the group. With the way he behaves both on and off the pitch, he is also a role model for our younger players.”
Coutinho had been under contract with Barcelona since January 2018, which paid no less than €135 million to Liverpool for him. At the Catalan top club, he made 106 official games, scored 25 goals and made 14 assists.
In recent years, Coutinho has no longer been a defining player at Barcelona. He was loaned to Bayern Munich in the 2019/2020 season, after which he had to miss the entire previous season due to a serious knee injury.
Coutinho had his best period at Liverpool, even though he did not take any trophies with the English top club. He won the Champions League with Bayern. He celebrated a league title with the Germans and also won two championships with Barcelona.