Financially struggling Barcelona are reportedly keeping a close eye on the situation of Philippe Coutinho (31, Aston Villa), whom they parted ways with last year. Coutinho is desperate for a move, especially with the possibility of receiving 50% of the transfer fee revenue under the ‘sell-on clause’.

Multiple media outlets including Spain’s ‘Mundo Deportivo’ and ‘Barça Universal’ reported on the 10th (KST), “Barcelona are hoping to sign Coutinho this summer after he recently received a transfer offer from Saudi Arabia and a ‘love letter’ from Qatar. We are keeping a close eye on the situation.”

According to reports, Barcelona’s eagerness to bring Coutinho to the Middle East is down to one thing: money. When Coutinho was sold to Aston Villa last summer, they inserted a ‘sell-on clause’ into his contract, meaning that if he were to leave, they would receive 50% of the transfer fee.

Barcelona believe they could earn at least €10 million. Coutinho’s transfer fee was not specifically mentioned, but basically, in order for the sell-on clause to be triggered, the club would have to leave a transfer fee of more than €20 million ($290 million) on the table and would only be able to keep half of it.

However, Barcelona are not looking at the situation optimistically, according to the outlet. Aston Villa are not expected to sell Coutinho this summer, and even if they did, it is unlikely that they would be able to trigger the sell-on clause as they are not sure they would be able to get more than €20 million in transfer fees as his market value has already dropped.

Coutinho is a nightmare for Barcelona. He’s one of their biggest signing failures. In fact, the club spent more than €135 million on the player when they signed him from Liverpool in January 2018, only to have him disappoint.토토사이트

In reality, Coutinho’s sharpness was nowhere to be found in his Liverpool days, and his inability to adapt led to a long slump in form, as he was plagued by a series of nagging injuries that turned him into a ‘fringe’ player. Naturally, Barcelona were criticized for their transfer policy and eventually sold him to Aston Villa last year. The sale only netted them €20 million. A huge loss.