Unable to recapture his Liverpool form at Barcelona, Philippe Coutinho was slowly but surely pushed aside by the Catalan club to the point where he had to leave on loan, with Bayern Munich the lucky recipients.
While he has yet to have any real impact on the pitch, starting one game from a possible three, the Brazilian is enjoying life in Bavaria, where he found quick solace in Thiago Alcántara, who helped him settle in the first few days through his ability to speak Portuguese.
In an interview with Sky Sports Germany, the attacking midfielder noted the differences in the relationship between club and fans compared to Barcelona, signing photos and writing autographs for well over half an hour after his first public training with the Bundesliga champions.
Saying everyone was ‘incredibly nice’ to him, Coutinho also noted how much more homely Bayern Munich is compared to his former clubs, referring to his time at Anfield in the process.
He said: “It definitely is. That’s exactly what I thought. Everything here feels like a family. I know that a bit from my time at Liverpool, but here, it feels even more like a family.”
During his spell under Jurgen Klopp, the playmaker made 201 appearances, scored 54 goals and assisted Liverpool teammates 45 times.
Currently on a one-year loan from Barcelona, Coutinho knows that he could secure his long-term future if he impresses enough as Bayern Munich have an option to buy him of €120m.
They didn’t trigger James Rodriguez’s, who returned to Real Madrid in the summer, and we’ll have to see if the Brazilian can do one better than the Colombian.
