Wijnaldum door opened as Barcelona’s Philippe Coutinho clause with Liverpool reportedly expires
Last Updated: November 26, 2020 8:46 pm
A significant transfer-related clause, included as part of the terms of Philippe Coutinho’s move from Liverpool to Barcelona, according to reports, has expired.
Coutinho’s struggles
Brazilian international Coutinho departed Liverpool for Spanish giants Barca in January of 2018.
The Blaugrana splashed out a reported £142 million on the attack-minded midfielder’s signature, in what, at the time, was viewed as a major coup.
As has been widely-documented, however, Barcelona have not exactly reaped the rewards of their massive outlay over the years since.
Coutinho has largely struggled to replicate his previous brilliance during his time in Catalunya, looking uncharacteristically bereft of confidence when donning the colours of the La Liga heavyweights.
This eventually resulted in those in charge at the Camp Nou coming to the decision to cut their losses last summer, when the 28-year-old made the move to German powerhouse Bayern Munich on loan for the 2019/20 campaign.
Barca boost
Coutinho’s time in Bavaria, however, for the most part, also proved largely underwhelming.
In fact, the former Inter Milan starlet managed starts in just 15 of Bayern’s 34 league outings last season (though he did of course clinch a Champions League winner’s medal).
It therefore came as little surprise when the Bundesliga giants opted against making his arrival permanent this summer.
LEIPZIG, GERMANY – SEPREMBER 14: Philippe Coutinho of Bayern Muenchen looks on during the Bundesliga match between RB Leipzig and Bayern Muenchen at Red Bull Arena on September 14, 2019 in Leipzig, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images)
As such, though he has since gone on to reestablish himself as part of the first-team picture at Barca this season, it is safe to say that, all told, the Blaugrana’s deal for Coutinho has proven one of the worst in the recent memory of European football.
As outlined above, however, one of the more outlandish aspects of the initial agreement made between the Catalans and Liverpool, which has since hindered the former somewhat, has, according to reports, finally expired.
As per the Daily Star, until recently, had Barca attempted to swoop for one of Jurgen Klopp’s squad, the Reds could simply have pointed towards the terms of their Coutinho deal, whereby it was agreed that the former would have to fork over an extra £89 million – on top of a transfer fee – for any Liverpool player.
This clause, though, no longer remains in place, which could prove significant for the Spanish outfit in January.
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS – OCTOBER 21: (BILD ZEITUNG OUT) Georginio Wijnaldum of FC Liverpool gestures during the UEFA Champions League Group D stage match between Ajax Amsterdam and Liverpool FC at Johan Cruijff Arena on October 21, 2020 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. (Photo by Alex Gottschalk/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
Barcelona have of course long been linked with a swoop for Gini Wijnaldum, who’s deal at Anfield is set to expire next summer.
As such, a cut-price winter deal could yet be on the cards, which would see the experienced midfielder reunite with former Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman at the Camp Nou.
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This article was edited by Josh Barker.
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| 2 | Manchester City FC | 18 | 18 | 38 |
| 3 | Leicester City FC | 19 | 14 | 38 |
| 4 | Liverpool FC | 18 | 16 | 34 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 18 | 16 | 33 |
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| 16 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 19 | -7 | 17 |
| 17 | Burnley FC | 17 | -13 | 16 |
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| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 13 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 12 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 12 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 11 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 11 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 11 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 10 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 8 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 8 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 7 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 7 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 7 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 7 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 6 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 6 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 6 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 6 |
| Abraham, Tammy | Chelsea FC | 6 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 5 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 5 |
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| Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 6 |
| Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 6 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 5 |
| Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 5 |
| Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 6 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 5 |
| Reid, Bobby | Fulham FC | 0 | 5 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 5 |
| Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 5 |
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| Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 5 |
| Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 4 |
| Kante, N`Golo | Chelsea FC | 0 | 5 |
| Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 4 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 0 | 4 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 4 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 0 | 4 |
| Tielemans, Youri | Leicester City FC | 0 | 4 |
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| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 11 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 7 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 7 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 6 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 5 |
| Robertson, Andrew | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 5 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 4 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 4 |
| Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 4 |
| Adams, Che | Southampton FC | 4 |
| Harrison, Jack | Leeds United | 4 |
| Chilwell, Benjamin | Chelsea FC | 4 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa FC | 4 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 4 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 3 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 3 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 3 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 3 |
