His nickname growing up was ‘Pequeno Magico’ – Little Magician – but, for Philippe Coutinho, the stardust has faded. As former club Liverpool celebrate their first title in 30 years, Coutinho is at a career crossroads – with more than a few roads blocked off.
Barcelona – who coughed up a huge £142million to sign him from Anfield in January 2018 – farmed him out on loan to Bayern Munich last August at a cost of £600,000 a game to the German champions.
His undoubted talent has flickered in spells in the Bundesliga – notably a hat-trick and two assists against Werder Bremen in December and two goals in the pre-lockdown 6-0 win at Hoffenheim.
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