SHARE

Barcelona have retained a 50% sell-on clause on Philippe Coutinho in the deal for him to join Aston Villa permanently.

That’s according to journalist Gerard Romero, who says the Brazilian will be moving to Villa Park for a €20m fee.

The midfielder has been on loan at Aston Villa since January when he reunited with former Liverpool teammate Steven Gerrard in an effort to get his career back on track.

He’s managed to do just that, featuring regularly under Gerrard and putting in a series of impressive performances that were a far cry from his days at the Camp Nou.

Embed from Getty Images

Aston Villa have been keen to keep him and had a clause to do so, but made it clear they did not want to pay that and renegotiate a lower fee.

That’s something they’ve now managed, with Romero backing up other claims in Spain that Barcelona and Villa have ‘closed in the last hours’ a deal for Coutinho to move to Villa Park for ‘around €20m’.

However, he explains that the deal will also see Barcelona retain a 50% sell-on clause on the player, meaning they could end up pocketing in future.

He also adds an interesting line, stating that the ‘key’ to the operation was that Gerrard and Coutinho shared the same agent. That, though, isn’t something we’re sure of.

Last year Gerrard was quoted as saying he shares the same agent as then Rangers player Jermain Defoe, who was represented by the Wasserman agency. Coutinho, meanwhile, is listed as a client for Sports Invest UK Limited.

They’re run by super-agent Kia Joorabchian, while it’s also been made clear that agent Giuliano Bertolucci, who works with Brazilian players around the world, is a part of the process.

Thus, we’re not sure what Romero is talking about, as Gerrard and Coutinho have very different agents. Perhaps the two companies have worked together, or something along those lines.

Either way, Aston Villa are said to be getting Coutinho on a permanent basis, and for much less than expected, although Barcelona will be duo a hefty 50% of any future sale.

Mundo Deportivo were first to report the €20m figure, this morning, and Brazil’s UOL are also backing it up.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR