Nearly two years on from his last Aston Villa appearance, the club want to terminate Philippe Coutinho‘s contract early after a second successive loan spell.
Coutinho left Liverpool in controversial fashion in January 2018 and has since donned the shirts of Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Villa, Al-Duhail and most recently his boyhood club Vasco da Gama.
Now 33, the Brazilian’s career is at a crossroads as the Premier League club seek to terminate his contract a year early to get his wages off their books, as per Birmingham Mail.
With Aston Villa currently experiencing financial challenges pertaining to Premier League and UEFA rules, ridding themselves of Coutinho’s wages is seen as a priority this summer.
The club find itself in a position the historic ‘top’ clubs do not when it comes to aligning revenue with their squad costs, thus their need to take action.
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Their squad costs will have risen since Coutinho last played for the club in August 2023, nearly two years ago, but they have no need to keep him around if a mutual agreement can be struck.
Coutinho spent a year back at his boyhood club on loan last season, his second stint away from Villa after signing a permanent deal in 2022 under Steven Gerrard after an initial loan spell from Barcelona.
Vasco are expected to offer a permanent home to the 33-year-old, who made a total of 43 appearances for Villa – he has represented Liverpool the most in his career with 201 outings.
“No regrets” over leaving Liverpool
Coutinho’s career is a reminder that the grass is not always greener when you leave Anfield, but he recently insisted that he has no regrets about pushing for the move to Barcelona.
“I had this dream to play for Barcelona,” he told Premier League Stories. “Then the opportunity presented itself and I couldn’t say no to my dream.
“I have no regrets about everything I experienced, all the places I’ve been. I gave my all, was very professional and tried to do my best.
“It worked out well at some clubs, while not so much at others. But that’s football. But I don’t have any regrets, only thanks and gratitude for every club I’ve been at.”
At the time it felt like a knife in Liverpool’s back, but it allowed the club to rebuild with Virgil van Dijk and Alisson – the rest, as they say, is history.
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