FC Barcelona Await Qatar Cash Windfall Through Ex-Player: Reports

FC Barcelona are hopeful of receiving a cash injection through the potential sale of one of their ex-players, according to Mundo Deportivo.

Barca broke their club transfer record in 2018 when they spent a good chunk of the Neymar money on his close friend Philippe Coutinho.

Coutinho was arguably the best player in the Premier
PINC
League at the time, meaning Barca had to agree to hand his club Liverpool a premium fee capable of rising to £142 million ($156 million).

Despite showing moments of class, however, Coutinho never took to life in Catalonia and enjoyed his greatest moments of success in terms of silverware on loan at Bayern Munich.

Adding insult to injury to Barca in a moment that highlighted the mismanagement of ex-president Josep Bartomeu, which put the club on the brink of ‘tehnical bankruptcy’, he infamously came on as a substitute against the Blaugrana for the Bavarians in their heaviest ever defeat in Europe.

Scoring two goals and providing an assist in an instant during the 8-2 Champions League quarter final drubbing in Lisbon, before Bayern then went on to lift the big-eared crown, Coutinho returned to Barca that year, in 2020, but still struggled to make an impact under Ronald Koeman or his successor Xavi Hernandez.

Before the close of the 2021-2022 season, Aston Villa decided to make the Rio native’s temporary loan permanent and reportedly paid Barca a £17 million ($21.6 million) fee.

Fast forward to the present, and the Birmingham outfit would offload Coutinho if they could.

There has been previous interest from the Saudi Pro League. Yet as reported by transfer market expert Fabrizio Romano, a number of clubs from Qatar have also made enquiries about the 31-year-old.

Barca will hope that someone comes forward with a solid and reasonable proposal for Coutinho because they struck a deal to receive 50% of any future sale when agreeing to let him join Villa.

If the final transfer fee were £20 million ($25.5 million) for example, Barca could pocket half of that amount which would be much-welcomed at a time when they are trying to navigate Financial Fair Play limits.

With such cash available, possible loan deals that bring Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix to Catalonia might be possible.