Madrid, Monday @PeopleSports11
Barcelona have confirmed that Philippe Coutinho has moved to Bayern Munich for the season on a loan deal worth Sh2.4 billion (£19million).
The German club claimed to have agreed not to disclose financial details of the deal but Barcelona revealed all.
They announced that Bayern snapped up Coutinho for the rest of the campaign and will pay his Sh 1.2 billion (£11million)-a-year wage on top of an initial Sh 1 billion (£8m) fee.
Bayern also have an option to sign Coutinho on a permanent deal at any stage of the loan for Sh 13.8 billion (£110m).
The Brazilian only moved to the Nou Camp club in January 2018 but found himself surplus to requirements this summer after dropping out of Ernesto Valverde’s first-team plans. A statement from Barcelona said that Bayern would pay just €8.5m (£7.75m) to bring him in for the season although a separate statement from the German club contradicted this, saying: ‘The parties have agreed not to divulge the financial details of the agreement.’ Having been unveiled by the German champions after completing his medical, Coutinho spoke for the first time since joining.
He told the club’s website: ‘For me, this move means a new challenge in a new country with one of the best clubs in Europe.
‘I’m very much looking forward to that. Like Bayern, I have big ambitions and I’m convinced that I can achieve them together with my new team-mates.’
And Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge added: ‘We’ve been working on bringing in Philippe Coutinho for quite some time and we’re very happy that we’ve been able to complete this transfer.
‘Our thanks go to Barcelona for agreeing to the transfer. With his creativity and outstanding skills, Philippe is a player who will immediately strengthen our attack.’
There were plenty of top European clubs touted as potential destinations for Coutinho, including his former side Liverpool, but Bayern’s sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic insisted that the Bavarian side were always the first choice. -Dailymail
