Philippe Coutinho has joined Bayern Munich from Barcelona on loan for the 2019-20 season, with the deal including an option for the German giants to buy the playmaker.
The clubs announced the completion of the transfer on Monday morning, with Barca saying Bayern will pay 8.5 million euros (£7.8m) and Coutinho’s wages, and that the option for the Bundesliga champions to then buy is fixed at 120m euros (£109.8m).
Coutinho passed his medical with Bayern on Sunday before putting pen to paper on his loan contract, which runs until June 30, 2020.
Agreement with @FCBayern for the loan of @Phil_CoutinhoMore details: https://t.co/YWy78OmRnU pic.twitter.com/6J5DN00SmC — FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) August 19, 2019
The Brazil international said on his new club’s official website: “For me, this move means a new challenge in a new country with one of the best clubs in Europe. I’m very much looking forward to that.
“Like FC Bayern, I have big ambitions and I’m convinced that I can achieve them together with my new teammates.”
Coutinho joined Barca from Liverpool in January 2018 in a £142m deal but has struggled to reproduce the kind of form he showed for the Reds.
The 27-year-old’s future has been the subject of intense speculation throughout the summer, during which Barca signed Antoine Griezmann, and he was not part of the matchday squad for their first game of the season, last Friday’s 1-0 LaLiga loss to Athletic Bilbao.
Coutinho has scored 21 goals in 75 games in all competitions for Barcelona and produced 11 assists. He has won LaLiga twice and the Copa del Rey during his time with the Nou Camp outfit.
Bayern had announced on Friday evening that a deal “in principle” to sign Coutinho had been agreed, with their chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic having been in Barcelona that week.
"I can't wait to pull on this shirt and play" 🔴⚪@Phil_Coutinho is officially an #FCBayern player 👌 #ServusCoutinho pic.twitter.com/3ovigYxuA7 — FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) August 19, 2019
Rummenigge said on Monday: “We’ve been working on bringing in Philippe Coutinho for quite some time and we’re very happy that we’ve been able to complete this transfer.
“Our thanks go to FC Barcelona for agreeing to the transfer. With his creativity and outstanding skills, Philippe is a player who will immediately strengthen our attack.”
Salihamidzic said: “Philippe made it very clear to us during the negotiations in Barcelona that he absolutely wanted to move to FC Bayern.
“He’s a world-class player with great ability, who we can deploy in a number of positions in our forward line, so the FC Bayern squad has gained even more quality.
“Philippe Coutinho will help us achieve the ambitious targets we’ve set for this season.”
Barca said in a statement: “FC Barcelona would like to publicly thank Philippe Coutinho for his commitment and dedication (and) wishes him all the best in this new stage of his career.”
