The saga involving Philippe Coutinho and Barcelona has turned out to be so big that even the Brazilian national team is being affected by it.
Coutinho’s potential transfer has been the subject of headlines and press conference questions, as the midfielder is currently one of the most important players in the squad.
The local press has already reported the Liverpool player has started training with the squad, and is expected to be fully available to play soon.
Pundits from SporTV were commenting on the situation this afternoon, and called Tino Marcos, a reporter who has been following the national team for years, to have his say on the matter.
Tino Marcos told Sportv: “We see a number of colleagues coming from Europe just to deal with this. It’s now a subject that mobilises the international news, this long soap opera of Philippe Coutinho’s transfer.
“We noticed in Philippe Coutinho, a bit of… he is not an extrovert player, but he seemed a little more serious, a little more focused from the moment he arrived at the hotel of the national team to training.
“We look forward to how this will unfold, fortunately the national team has several people who can help him in the conduct of this issue. But it was conducted, in my opinion, badly by the player himself and by the club as well.
“Because Liverpool itself accepted now that Philippe stayed out of the games, accepted this claim of back pain. In short, the thing is very badly resolved, we know that this is a time of much turmoil.
“I would bet on Willian to start, to give Philippe Coutinho a little time.”
Brazil are playing Ecuador on Thursday night local time, so the transfer window will be closed by then. O Globo had a headline today saying the national team ‘cured’ Coutinho, and whether that’s true should be seen in the match.
