View: Barcelona have fleeced Aston Villa with Philippe Coutinho sell-on clause
Aston Villa have completed the permanent signing of Philippe Coutinho from FC Barcelona after a successful spell on loan this season.
The creative Brazilian attacking midfielder has put pen to paper on a four-year deal, taking him to the summer of 2026 with the Villans paying £17million to the Catalan giants.
The 29-year-old has scored four goals with three further assists to his name this season for the club and his signing does make absolute sense for Steven Gerrard given what he’s brought to Villa Park.
While £17million is the flat fee the club has paid, the financial situation is far from done with Barcelona because, according to their official club website, there is a 50% sell-on clause in the 68-time Brazilian international’s contract.
That has really hamstrung the Villans when they eventually come to sell Coutinho a few years down the line because there is almost no way in which they can turn a monetary profit on him.
For them to recuperate the £17million they’ve spent on him, they would have to sell him for twice the amount they paid, a whopping £34million.
He may have been sold for well in excess of £100million to the Spanish side back in 2018 but time has quickly moved on as has the transfer market and you will never get that kind of fee for a near 30-year-old unless they are a truly generational talent.
Maybe this is a touch of naivety on Aston Villa’s side of things having not been dealing with players and clubs of such magnitude in the transfer market and this is a crucial learning opportunity for the club that they have to take note of.
Barcelona really have fleeced Villa in this deal but Gerrard and the supporters need to forget the monetary value of this deal and hope that he can essentially pay for his own move with exceptional performances that propel the club into Europe in the very near future.
In other Aston Villa news, the boss looks likely to avoid FA action over his comments about Jonathan Moss after the defeat at home to Liverpool.