Philippe Coutinho had several options to leave Barcelona in January and he ended up choosing Aston Villa.
The attacking midfielder joined Villa on a loan deal until the end of the season and the move saw him reunite with his former teammate, Steven Gerrard, who is currently the manager at Villa Park.
Coutinho’s decision to move away from the La Liga side was motivated by a wish for regular playing time, so that it improves his chances of representing Brazil at the Qatar World Cup later this year. He has four goals and three assists from 10 league games for the Premier League side.
The 29-year-old has regained his place back in the national team as Tite included him in Seleção squad for the ongoing international break. It allowed Globo Esporte to interview the ex-Liverpool star, where he was also quizzed about his adaptation in England.
“I believe I have been adapting well to this return to English football. It’s a league I know and I feel good playing. In addition, I was very well received by everyone and this has helped me a lot,” Coutinho said.
“We [with Gerrard] had a conversation that made me feel very comfortable and motivated. He talked about the Villa project, the goals, what he expected of me and it was something I was looking for too. I believe we made a good decision and things are going well.”
The Barca owned player joined up with his compatriot, Douglas Luiz, at Aston Villa. The two were born in Rio de Janerio and came up through the ranks of Vasco da Gama’s academy.
Coutinho was quizzed on his relationship with the Villa midfielder. Responding to that, he said: “Douglas is a great player and an excellent person. We had contact before I came to Aston Villa in the Brazilian national team, but now that we play together, we are very close, which favours the integration on the field.”
