Philippe Coutinho is still under contract at Aston Villa for another year
Philippe Coutinho
Philippe Coutinho (Image: Getty Images)
Aston Villa want to terminate Philippe Coutinho’s contract to get his wages off the books.
The Brazilian playmaker was on loan at Vasco da Gama over the past year after returning to his boyhood club in July 2024.
That loan spell is now set to end, and Coutinho has one year remaining on his contract at Villa Park.
It is financially beneficial for Villa to terminate Coutinho’s contract, and they hope to reach a mutual agreement.
He signed for Villa permanently in May 2022 following an initial loan spell from Barcelona in January of that year.
The Brazilian joined Villa when Steven Gerrard was head coach and made a bright start at the club, but he struggled for form thereafter.
The 33-year-old’s wish to have his future resolved earlier this month did not come to fruition.
In the second week of June, Coutinho told Premiere, via ESPN Brasil, that a resolution was close: “People are talking, this week I think it’s positive to talk about and decide everything.”
That concurs with comments from chief executive Carlos Amodeo, who at the start of this month said: “The goal is to keep the player. There is no problem between him and Vasco.
"The point is to resolve the situation with Aston Villa so we can move forward. Coutinho is a player we want to count on for the rest of the season. We’re in contact with his staff awaiting his release.”
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