Official: Philippe Coutinho Joins Bayern and Selects New Shirt Number

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The former Red ends a disastrous spell with Barcelona, joining Bayern and selecting the number ten.

For a time, it appeared as though there was a small but real chance that Philippe Coutinho might end up back at Liverpool over the summer, with Barcelona desperate to move on the former Red to make room for new signing Antoine Griezmann and target Neymar.

The club, though, made clear that wouldn’t be happening as the window neared its close in England, and with the Reds as well as other Premier League clubs off the table and Paris Saint-Germain seemingly uninterested, it seemed Coutinho might be stuck in Catalonia.

Over the past week, talk of a temporary move to Bayern Munich arrived as a potential answer—for Coutinho and Barcelona both. And today, potential has become official, with the now 27-year-old Brazilian joining the Bundesliga giants on a season-long loan.

While Bayern released a statement saying the clubs had agreed to not release financial information on the transfer deal, Barcelona were happy to let everyone know that the cost of Coutinho would be €8.5M along with the player’s wages, a reported €13.5M.

There is also a €120M purchase option for next summer, though the widespread belief is that Bayern would not consider bringing Coutinho on permanently for such a fee, which means he’s likely to be back with Barca next summer—and probably for sale again.

After wearing the number seven at Barcelona, Coutinho will return to wearing the number ten as he did in his five-and-a-half seasons with Liverpool.

Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com