Aston Villa midfielder Philippe Coutinho is heading home to Brazil to join Serie A side Vasco da Gama on a season-long loan.
The former Liverpool and Barcelona man spent last season at Al-Duhail in Qatar and still has two years left on his contract with the Villans after joining them from Barcelona in 2022.
Coutinho, 32, has scored six times in just 43 appearances for Villa across two seasons but had a promising start to life in the Midlands when he initially joined on loan.
He scored on his debut against Manchester United and racked up eight goal contributions in the second half of the 2021-22 season.
Coutinho is one of the world’s most expensive players. He joined Barcelona £142m in 2018 but did not live up to expectations in Spain, mainly due to a significant knee injury he picked up.
Vasco da Gama were reportedly keen to bring Coutinho in on a permanent deal this summer, but lacked the funds to get a deal done.
Aston Villa can confirm that Philippe Coutinho has joined Vasco da Gama on a season-long loan. 🟣
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) July 10, 2024
Instead, the ex-Inter Milan midfielder will have a temporary stay in South America, before re-assessing his options next year.
He is unlikely to play in the Premier League again as he settles into the twilight of his career.
At the peak of his powers, he starred for Liverpool alongside Steven Gerrard, Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge as they challenged for the title under Brendan Rodgers.
