ARA: Barcelona want to sell Philippe Coutinho in January window
A report says the club are looking to shift the Brazilian from the wage bill and bring in a fee
Diario ARA report on Friday that Barcelona want to sell Philippe Coutinho before Jan. 24. There are various reasons to look for a transfer for the Brazilian, the first being financial.
The president of the managing committee, Carles Tusquets, believes the wage bill has to be further reduced despite player deferrals and there has to be a sale. Coutinho is one of the best-paid players in the squad and there are a lot of players who play a similar position to him.
Coutinho began the season in a central No.10 role, but since then Antoine Griezmann, Lionel Messi and Pedri have all played ahead of him. The latter was chosen for the midweek win over Real Sociedad, although it was more of a No.8 role in a 4-3-3.
In Coutinho's case, an injury ruined his promising start to the season. The ex-Liverpool man was playing well in a position more familiar to him but since returning to the left he's not been as good.
Coutinho returned to Barça in the summer after a year on loan at Bayern Munich, where he never earned a regular spot as a starter. Ronald Koeman called him to tell him he wanted him as part of his Barça project, but his good start is now a distant memory.
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