Former Barcelona midfielder Phillipe Coutinho, who played alongside Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi at the Nou Camp, is set to join his former team-mates at Inter Miami in a surprise move.
Coutinho is currently on loan at Al Duhail in Qatar from Premier League side Aston Villa, having fallen out of favour with the club.
Despite playing for Aston Villa under Steven Gerrard, Coutinho has fallen down the pecking order under new manager Unai Emery. And with Villa currently second in the Premier League, the club appear to have lost sight of Coutinho’s services.
The Brazilian left Villa for Qatar in the summer, where he has scored two goals in six league appearances. He has also been in fine form in the AFC Champions League, scoring twice and providing an assist in just three games.
And with Messi’s “tip”, the Florida team is trying to please the Argentine superstar, by attracting many former Barca players, aiming to win titles this season. If he moves to Inter Miami, Coutinho will be reunited with former Barca teammates such as Messi, Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
The Brazilian spent about four and a half years at Camp Nou, from 2018 to 2022, including a season on loan at Bayern Munich (2019-2020 season). However, Coutinho’s career has not progressed much during his time at Barca, with a total of 106 matches.
One of the highlights of this period for Coutinho was winning the Bundesliga and Champions League with Bayern Munich while he was on loan.
The 31-year-old Al Duhail player is currently unhappy in Qatar on a season-long loan deal, with things not going his way. With a total of 419 minutes of football played so far in Doha, Coutinho has started just six games.
According to Spanish newspaper AS, Coutinho’s limited playing time has left him frustrated and the Brazilian has opened the door for a return to form by reuniting with Messi at Inter Miami this January.
Coutinho left Liverpool for £105m in 2018, spending more than three seasons at Barcelona alongside World Cup winner Messi, making 106 La Liga appearances.
A move to the United States could help the player regain his form, which has been lacking since moving from Anfield to Camp Nou. And it’s not just Inter Miami, the LA Galaxy, where another former Barcelona teammate, Riqui Puig, plays, are also interested in Coutinho.