Philippe Coutinho's Aston Villa nightmare - where it all wrong for Liverpool legend
The expectation is Philippe Coutinho will leave Aston Villa and return home to Brazil this summer
Once a £142m Barcelona signing, Liverpool legend Phillipe Coutinho is set to have time called on a forgettable stint at Aston Villa.
A transfer driven by his former Anfield teammate Steven Gerrard, the Brazilian's arrival at B^ promised so mich, yet ultimately delivered so little.
Coutinho, who turned 32 earlier this week, will likely leave Villa permanently during this current transfer window, approaching a year after last playing for the club. Despite two years remaining on his contract, which pays around £135,000 a week in wages, the two parties are negotiating to terminate the deal.
READ MORE: Weston McKennie and Douglas Luiz do their talking on the pitch amid €20m Aston Villa swap deal
READ MORE: Aston Villa set Matty Cash price tag as AC Milan transfer talks open
The attacking midfielder is in talks about returning to boyhood club Vasco da Gama 14 years after first leaving. Coutinho spent most of that time at Anfield, making over 200 appearances for Liverpool. So, where did it all go wrong?
After playing over 100 times for Barcelona on either side of a season-long loan at Bayern Munich, a campaign in which the Bavarians won the treble, Coutinho left the Catalan club for a Premier League return midway through his fourth season. The move came months after former Liverpool teammate Steven Gerrard became Villa's new head coach, and it soon looked like an inspired signing.
Coutinho scored on his debut as a substitute against Manchester United and added another four goals that season, including one on the final day versus Manchester City. Villa made the move permanent before that season even finished, with the player taking a considerable wage cut to facilitate the transfer.
But the following season did not go according to plan. Gerrard was sacked before the end of October, dropping Coutinho in his final match away at Fulham.
After the arrival of Unai Emery, the Brazilian started just one more game, a 4-2 defeat to Arsenal, in which he scored his last goal for Villa. Injury issues then took hold as a hamstring problem kept Coutinho out for the rest of the season.
A reprieve at the start of the next campaign saw the playmaker feature off the bench in the opening two games, but he was hamstrung soon by injury once more. Then, last September, Coutinho joined Qatari club Al-Duhail for the rest of the season.
The Brazilian remained largely injury-free, playing 22 times and scoring seven goals, his best return since spending the season with Bayern. But a return home beckons for the player two years after last representing his country as many of his former teammates prepare to win back the Copa America in the United States.
And, earlier this week, it was claimed by journalist Bruno Andrade that Aston Villa have agreed to bring an end to his current deal and have given him a 'free path' for him to return to Brazil and join Vasco da Gama.
Click here to join our Aston Villa WhatsApp Community to receive the latest news and transfer headlines.