Since moving to Barcelona in 2018, Philippe Coutinho has had a difficult time establishing himself as a default starter in the lineup. Barcelona paid a big fee to Liverpool for their star player, and are set to shell out another £17.1 million once an appearance-based clause is reached.
The clause in Coutinho’s contract states that Barcelona will have to pay Liverpool the add-on amount once he makes 100 appearances for the club. The Brazilian is currently at 90 and could reach that number in the near future. He is the only natural number 10 at the club following the departure of Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann and could find himself being selected more often as a result.
In his first season at Barcelona, Coutinho provided 7 goals and 8 assists in 18 league appearances. The next year, he only scored 11 goals across 54 appearances in all competitions before being loaned out to Bayern Munich. He won the treble with the Bavarians and scored twice against Barcelona in the 8-2 defeat before returning to the club.
After the loan spell in Germany, Coutinho’s time at Barcelona did not improve much. He was sidelined for the majority of the season due to a serious knee injury and he is now fit to play for the Blaugrana after making a full recovery.
Barcelona face Bayern Munich in the Champions League next, since their fixture against Sevilla in La Liga has been postponed. Coutinho could make his first team return against his former club in midweek.
