In the early morning of May 10, Beijing time, the Western media "World Sports News" pointed out that Barca was ready to clean Coutinho, even at a loss of 120 million euros. The players are likely to stay at Villa and continue to play under Gerrard next season.
Barca in the 21/22 season did not perform well, even if Xavi once led the team to a 4-0 hit against real Madrid, they still missed the championship, and they were also out of the Europa League quarter-finals, resulting in the season four empty. It is clear from Laporta to Xavi that Barca must return to the title race through reinforcements.
At present, Barca have finalized Chelsea defender Christensen and AC Milan midfielder Casey, both of whom are expected to join for free. In addition, Barca are also actively seeking Marcos Alonso and Azpilicueta, Leeds United winger Rafinha and possibly Bayern striker Lewandowski.
Before the big fish are introduced, Barca must continue to clear up the redundancy and further free up salary space, they will not buy out Traore, and Lenglet also faces being purged. What bothers Barca even more is Coutinho.
Coutinho joined Barca in the winter window of 2018, when the transfer fee reached 120 million, which can reach 160 million euros including various floating clauses. More than 4 years later, Barca have paid 140 million euros for Coutinho, and he has become the team's all-time champion.
The result? Coutinho went high and low at Camp Nou, was once loaned to Bayern, but was returned six months later. Considering that his annual salary is as high as 13 million euros, he is definitely the number one burden in the Barca team.
In January, Coutinho took the initiative to cut his salary to seek a transfer, joining Villa on loan, with a 40 million euro buyout clause.
Under former teammate Gerrard, how did Coutinho perform? At the beginning, Coutinho was very amazing, contributing 1 goal and 2 assists in the first 3 games, which is a great meaning of returning the king. But half a season passed, and Coutinho made 15 appearances and only scored 4 goals and 3 assists, gradually returning to mediocrity.
Barca know very well that it is not realistic to sell Coutinho for 40 million euros, and only by reducing the price can they find a receiver. According to the World Sport newspaper, Barca are ready to cut meat, hoping to sell between 15 million and 20 million, which is likely to lose 120 million euros.
It is worth mentioning that Gerrard still firmly believes in Coutinho, and the player himself is willing to stay in the Premier League in order to participate in the World Cup held in November, Barca's difficulty in promoting the transfer is greatly reduced, and it is very likely to throw off the number one burden this summer.