Ferran Torres is awaiting registration as a Barcelona player with LaLiga, which means they must free up money from their squad to reach their pay ceiling. It had been assumed that Philippe Coutinho’s loan move to Aston Villa would be enough to register Ferran, but this is not the case.
Signing Coutinho For Barca
First and foremost, Coutinho’s loan is still provisional, since the player must fly to Birmingham next week and pass a physical, as stated in the club’s statement. Ferran’s income would include his salary plus the accumulated depreciation of his move, which is equivalent to six million euros, even if he passes the medical.
Barcelona is attempting to get more players to leave the club before the Supercopa de Espana semi-final against Real Madrid, but this is improbable given that they would have to leave before LaLiga would approve Ferran’s registration.
Even if Ferran is registered, other considerations, such as his positive COVID-19 test before the Copa del Rey wins against Linares, could postpone his debut. In addition, the Spanish forward is currently healing from a foot injury sustained in Manchester.
While Ferran strives to make himself available, Barcelona is looking for a way out for Samuel Umtiti, who is hesitant to leave and has yet to accept any offer, and Yusuf Demir, who is awaiting a transfer agreement from Rapid Wien.
About Coutinho
Coutinho was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, where he excelled in Vasco da Gama’s youth system. Coutinho debuted for Brazil at the senior level in 2010. He played in the 2015 Copa América, the Copa América Centenario in 2016, and the 2018 FIFA World Cup, scoring two goals and being nominated to the FIFA World Cup Dream Team.
Coutinho joined Barcelona in January 2018 for a club-record cost of €160 million, making him the world’s second most expensive player at the point (and the most expensive midfielder in 2018), and has since won two La Liga titles. He was also a member of the Brazilian side that won the Copa América 2019 in their home country.
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