Philippe Coutinho gives cryptic response about possible reunion with ex-Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi at Inter Miami… with the Brazilian facing uncertain future at Aston Villa
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Philippe Coutinho gave a cryptic answer when asked about rumors linking him to a reunion with former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi.
The Brazilian – who is currently on loan to Qatari side Al-Duhali from Aston Villa – faces an uncertain future at Villa Park, with his contract expiring in 2026.
The former Liverpool playmaker has scored five goals in 11 appearances for the Middle Eastern club after falling out of favor in the Midlands. He was asked about the possibility of joining Messi on the MLS team.
Coutinho played alongside Messi for the Catalan side for four seasons between 2017 and 2022 after joining from Liverpool for £142 million, one of the most expensive transfers ever at the time.
And during an interview with a Spanish outlet Sporthe played down rumors that he could move to Inter Miami to play alongside Messi again, but refused to rule it out.
Philippe Coutinho gave a cryptic answer when asked about reuniting with Lionel Messi at Inter Miami in the future
The Brazilian is currently on loan to Qatari side Al-Duhail from Aston Villa this season
“I just think about the moment,” he said. ‘I want to be healthy, prepare well, play good matches, enjoy football. We never know what will happen in the future.
“My name always appears in the newspapers, where they speak in every way, good and bad. I try not to look at it and I just worry about doing my job well and enjoying it.”
Coutinho struggled for game time during his time at Camp Nou, but still made a total of 106 appearances, scoring 26 times.
He was a key player in the 2018/2019 season, starting 22 games in LaLiga and making 54 appearances in all competitions, scoring 11 times.
However, his playing time dwindled as time went on and he was eventually loaned out to Bayern Munich in 2019 and then to Villa in 2022.
Coutinho faces an uncertain future at Villa Park after falling out of favor under Unai Emery
After a stunning start to his loan spell at Villa, the move was made permanent at the end of the 2021/22 season but he struggled to replicate his previous form. He scored a total of six goals from 43 appearances.
When asked about his time at Barcelona alongside Messi, Coutinho said he had ‘no regrets’ as he achieved his dream of playing for the Spanish giants.
‘No. Never. Things haven’t turned out the way I imagined, the way people expected, the way I expected, because I’m the first to demand myself on the field, I tell myself to give more on the field, etc.
‘I’ve tried everything, I’ve always been very professional and I don’t regret anything. It was always my dream to play for Barcelona and I went there, I enjoyed it, I was able to meet a lot of people, win titles and it will always remain in the story of my life.’
Meanwhile, Coutinho refused to give much away when asked about his future at Villa.
“I don’t know,” he said. ‘I just want to live in the moment, enjoy my teammates, my team (Al-Duhail), help them as much as I can and enjoy football here.
