Home » Philippe Coutinho ‘absolutely closed’ against joining Man United

Philippe Coutinho ‘absolutely closed’ against joining Man United

by Red Billy

Manchester United is the only big club for which Barcelona’s Philipe Coutinho would not sign, according to Sport Witness.

Coutinho never met expectations at Barcelona after his €145 million (£131 million) move from Liverpool in January 2018 and is currently on loan at German giants Bayern Munich.

The Brazilian has to some extent resurrected his career at Bayern, scoring nine goals and providing eight assists in 32 games this season.

Bayern have, however, decided against making the deal permanent and with Barcelona wanting to raise funds to bring back Neymar from PSG and also to sign Lautaro Martinez from Inter Milan, Coutinho is expected to be sold at the end of the season.

Sport Witness reports that Coutinho had a verbal agreement to join Spurs last summer, when Mauricio Pochettino was manager, but the deal collapsed. The outlet believes that Pochettino remains a keen admirer of the 27-year-old and would try to sign him for United should he become their next manager in the summer.

However, quoting Spanish outlet Sport, Sport Witness says ‘Coutinho doesn’t relish joining United because of his past association with their league rivals, Liverpool. Therefore, the path to joining them is ‘absolutely closed’ and the 20-time English champions are the ‘only team’ to be ruled out by the player.’

It is not unheard of for a player to represent both United and Liverpool, with the likes of Paul Ince, Peter Beardsley and Michael Owen all having signed contracts at both ends of the East Lancs Road. If Pochettino does succeed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, it is certainly possible that he would try to persuade Coutinho to follow their lead.

While football is on lockdown, try your hand at our quiz below that tests your knowledge about the times when Manchester United or its players have been banned, bombed or blocked from playing.


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