Philippe Coutinho has left Aston Villa to join Qatari side Al-Duhail on loan.
The 31-year-old Brazilian midfielder arrived at Villa Park in January 2022, initially on a short-term deal from Barcelona. The deal was later made permanent during the following summer transfer window.
Despite a promising start to his return to the Premier League under manager Steven Gerrard, Coutinho struggled to meet expectations. This was primarily due to issues with form and injuries.
In the previous season, he only managed seven league starts for Villa and scored just one goal.
Additionally, he suffered a hamstring injury shortly after coming on as a substitute in a match against Everton last month.
Coutinho’s career has faced challenges since his high-profile £142 million move from Liverpool to Barcelona in 2018.
With this loan move to Al-Duhail in the Middle East, he hopes to rejuvenate his career.
Coutinho has already agreed to personal terms with the club after rejecting offers from Turkish giants Besiktas and La Liga outfit Real Betis.
Coutinho will now link up with Al-Duhail boss Hernan Crespo, who guided the side to Qatar Stars League glory last term.
The Doha-based outfit have begun their title defence unbeaten after three games, trailing early leaders Al-Rayyan by two points.
Before offloading the Brazilian, Unai Emery said: “Philippe is a very good person. As a player, he has played at a very high level. He has not been consistent because of injuries. We spoke with him and agreed that if something is good for him and good for the club, we can let him leave.
“Then he can find his good performance as a player.”
It’s worth noting that Coutinho still has three years remaining on the four-year contract he signed with Villa last summer.
Barcelona have a 50 per cent sell-on clause but the Blaugrana are not likely to benefit since it is a loan deal rather than a permanent transfer.
