5 reasons why Barcelona need to get back Philippe Coutinho
Barcelona are in disarray. After a dismal league campaign which saw their arch-rivals Real Madrid lift the La Liga trophy, Barcelona ended the 2019-20 season in horrible fashion, losing 8-2 to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinal.
With manager Quique Setien all set to be sacked, much planning lies ahead for the club to return to their glory days. One of them revolves around Philippe Coutinho. Barcelona's big-money acquisition, now on loan at Bayern Munich, scored twice against them and also providied an assist in the 8-2 trouncing.
With Bayern Munich appearing unwilling to sign Philippe Coutinho on a permanent basis, let us have a look at five reasons why the Brazilian needs to be back at Barcelona next season.
Five reasons why Barcelona need to recall Philippe Coutinho from Bayern Munich:
#5: Coutinho has no major fitness issues
Barcelona have had a plethora of injury problems with some of their major stars. Lionel Messi missed the start of last season due to a calf injury while Luis Suarez was ruled out of four months in January due to a knee issue. Ousmane Dembele, on the other hand, has missed more than 80 games since joining the club in 2017.
However, that is not the case with Philippe Coutinho. The Brazil international does not have a clean injury record; he had some trouble during his time at Liverpool. But Coutinho has missed only eight games during his time at Barcelona due to injuries. At Bayern Munich, he has missed nine games, though.
It is, without doubt, better than the likes of Dembele and Samuel Umtiti who have failed to contribute meaningfully to Barcelona for some time now due to various injury troubles.
#4: Barcelona would not recoup their huge investment on Coutinho if they sell him now
Barcelona paid Liverpool €160 million in January 2018 for the services of Philippe Coutinho, making the Brazilian at the time the second-most expensive transfer in the world.
Two and a half years later, it would be fair to say that no club is willing to offer even half of that amount for Coutinho's signature. A poor stint at Barcelona resulted in him leaving for Bayern Munich on loan. Despite the Bavarians having the option to sign him permanently for €120 million, it seems very unlikely that they would do so.
There is no denying that the 28-year-old is a quality player. However, due to the financial instability caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, clubs are wary of spending exorbitant amounts on players, especially those who have not been at their very best for nearly two years now.
Also Read: 10 players with the best minutes to goals ratio in the UEFA Champions League.