Coutinho will start the season with an EU passport
The Brazilian international, who qualifies for a Portuguese passport through his wife, has sent off all the documentation in order to remove his non-EU status
Philippe Coutinho could start the season without occupying one of Barcelona's non-EU places. According to Mundo Deportivo, the player's application to attain a Portuguese passport is very advanced and he's already sent word to La Liga and the RFEF that he'll start the season with dual nationality.
The Brazilian midfielder is eligible for this due to his wife, who is Portuguese, and the couple have been married for longer than two years. While he waits for his official passport to arrive, the documentation would be enough for him to claim double nationality and avoid being named as a non-EU member of the squad.
Arthur & Mina are the only non-eu members of the squad
Barça are confident this will all be wrapped up before the start of the season. One of the problems the club had was the lack of non-EU spots available as Coutinho, Paulinho and Mina covered all the allowed squad places last year.
With Paulinho going to China and Coutinho's dual nationality, Barcelona could now sign another non-EU member to their squad even if Mina stayed at the club. Right now, with that space available (Arthur and Mina occupy two of the three), it reopens the possibility of signing Willian from Chelsea.
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