Aston Villa are reportedly in talks to reach an agreement with Philippe Coutinho to terminate his contract, while reports from Brazil suggest it is already a done deal.
The 32-year-old joined us from Barcelona in January 2022, initially on loan, before his switch was made permanent the following summer having impressed in his first few months at the club.
READ MORE: Contact made as Villa could face key exit decision on £30m-rated ace
However, after the exit of former boss Steven Gerrard and as Coutinho began to suffer with injury setbacks and competition for places, his role became increasingly limited before he was shipped out on loan to Al-Duhail last season.
Ultimately, with the signings that Unai Emery has made and with those ahead of the Brazilian playmaker in the pecking order now, it’s fair to say that he doesn’t have a future at Villa, and so it would suit all parties if he was able to move on.
According to Brazilian journalist Bruno Andrade, Coutinho has now terminated his contract with Villa, and subsequently he is expected to return to his former club Vasco de Gama.
In contrast, the Athletic report that talks are still ongoing to reach that outcome, and so it remains to be seen if or when there is an official announcement to clarify the situation.
From a Villa perspective, it would have been ideal to receive a fee for Coutinho given our outlay to sign him permanently from Barcelona, as that could have had an important impact on our PSR concerns as we look set to make important sales this month.
That doesn’t seem likely to be the case based on the reports above, but there is still a major positive to take from it in that shifting Coutinho’s wages off our books will make a significant difference given he was likely a big earner at the club.
Given his contract with Villa runs until June 2026 though, time will tell if it’s an amicable and clean split or if Villa will have to pay him off in order to terminate the agreement, but either way, it seems like the sensible decision from the club to cut ties with Coutinho and move forward without him.
