Philippe Coutinho will leave Aston Villa this summer and the Premier League club are set to lose out on money as the Brazilian did not want to play for Botafogo.
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Coutinho has a contract at Villa Park until 2026 and the Brazilian side were ready to pay a transfer fee to sign him this summer. According to CNN Brazil, Botafogo were the first club to make a move for the 31-year-old ahead of the upcoming transfer window and were informed of all the details to make a deal happen.
However, the former Liverpool star rejected the move as the midfielder wants to play for their Rio de Janeiro rivals Vasco da Gama instead.
Coutinho previously played for Vasco and that is the destination the Villa star will now end up.
Botafogo were ready to pay a transfer fee for the Brazilian star but that is not the case with Vasco da Gama, who are in a worse financial state. Coutinho’s former club will sign the midfielder for free this summer with the player rescinding his Aston Villa contract to allow him move.
Aston Villa Coutinho Premier League
Coutinho is an unwanted star at Aston Villa having spent the season on loan with Qatari outfit Al Duhail, where he played 21 games, scoring six goals alongside three assists. However, losing out on a transfer fee is a blow for the Birmingham outfit.
Aston Villa, like many other Premier League clubs, have concerns over their position with the league’s profit and sustainability rules and a transfer fee would have helped when it comes to signing new players this summer.
It may have been a small fee but every little helps, and at the very least, Villa will get the Brazilian’s wages off of their books.
