Philippe Coutinho has appeared to effectively end his Barcelona career, despite still having one year remaining on his contract with the LaLiga giants.
Coutinho’s struggles with the Blaugrana have been well documented, failing to ever live up to the exorbitant £146million fee they paid Liverpool in January 2018. Injuries and a dramatic loss in form meant the Brazilian playmaker failed to ever settle in Catalonia, making just over 100 appearances in almost four years with the club.
In January, he ended his Barcelona nightmare and sealed a temporary return to the Premier League, reuniting with Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard on-loan for the remainder of the season. And his impact back in the English top-flight has been immediate, registering three assists and four goals in his first 10 appearances for Villa.
That form has led to a recall to the Brazilian national team and offered a time of reflection for a player that has been to the top and back again. But in speaking about his time in Spain, the ex-Liverpool star spoke as if that part of his career is over and making it clear he is now much happier to be back, and thriving, in the Premier League.
"I have a beautiful story at Liverpool, I was happy there, now I’m starting to write a story at Aston Villa," he told Globo Esporte. "I’m happy that once again I’m able to play well in England, as I’ve played in Italy, Spain and Germany.
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"It’s hard to say what didn’t work at Barca. I had good times there, but the sequence and the way of acting were factors that could have been different. It was time to move forward, always with great respect and professionalism.
“I am grateful to Barcelona for believing in my work and I am grateful for having defended a club with a lot of history."
After his brilliant start to life at Villa, the option of making the switch permanent has been mooted, with reports suggesting Gerrard’s side have an option to do so in the summer. And Coutinho explained the ambitious project at the club, which made the decision to swap the Camp Nou for Villa Park an easier one.
He added: “I believe I have adapted well to this return to English football. It's a championship I know and I feel good playing. In addition, I was very well received by everyone and this has helped me a lot.
“We had a conversation that made me feel very comfortable and motivated. He talked about the Villa project, the goals, what he expected from me and it was something I was looking for too. I believe we made a good decision and things are going well.”
But with his long-term future up in the air, one thing Coutinho is happy to rule out, is an imminent return to his homeland, still feeling he has plenty of years left at the game’s pinnacle: “It's difficult to talk about the future, we shouldn't close doors and I'm happy for the interest of these teams in counting on my work, but today I think about my reality, which is European football.”
