Philippe Coutinho is aiming to return to the Premier League, according to his agent Kia Joorabchian. Coutinho was a star at Liverpool, yet failed to establish himself at Barcelona following a €145million move in January 2018.
The Brazil playmaker subsequently joined Bayern Munich on loan in August 2019 and has scored eight goals in 22 Bundesliga appearances.
With Coutinho out injured, it does not seem likely Bayern will be extending his stay after electing not to take up a €120m purchase option, with a host of Premier League clubs, including Tottenham, Arsenal and former side Liverpool, reportedly interested.
Joorabchian, who also represents Coutinho’s compatriots David Luiz and Willian, has now confirmed the 27-year-old has set a return to England in his sights.
“He has a desire to come back to the Premier League at some point, It may not happen this year, it may happen this year but we don’t know. We really have not discussed anything for now.” Joorabchian told Sky Sports.
However, Joorabchian insisted talks of Barca putting a £70million (€78m) price tag on Coutinho, or asking for a £9m (€10m) loan fee, are wide of the mark.
“I’ve never heard those figures, we’ve never discussed numbers, none of those figures have ever been discussed,” he added.
In another news, Barcelona captain Lionel Messi will not be leaving the Catalan club for free this summer after his clause expired on Sunday.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner had an agreement in his contract allowing him to walk away for nothing at the end of the current campaign, but had to let the club know before the end of May.
With that time period now having elapsed, the Argentine attacker will spend at least one more season at Camp Nou, where he has won 34 trophies and scored 627 goals in an extraordinary career.
Messi, who will be 33 later this month, is out of contract in 2021 and Barca will now look to start negotiations over a new deal for their star player.
If an agreement cannot be reached by January, Messi would be free to negotiate with other clubs over a possible transfer at the end of the 2020-21 season.
However, the player is happy in Barcelona and not currently considering a move at this point in his career.
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