Former Barcelona star Philippe Coutinho has reportedly taken a huge wage reduction to secure his exit from the Blaugranas.
The talented Brazilian had greatly impressed former Liverpool teammate and current Villa boss Steven Gerrard and is now assured of remaining at Aston Villa after agreeing to a four-year after joining the club on a six-month loan deal in January permanent move to the Premier League side.
Gerrard had openly expressed his appreciation of the Brazilian’s football talents on the pitch and stated his desire to keep the 29-year-old in recent weeks and Villa finally reached an agreement to sign him from the Spanish giants.
Coutinho’s original purchase clause was €40m in the original deal but was rejected by Villa and Barcelona agreed to accept a €20m fee instead with the off-loading of the former Liverpool winger benefitting Villa the asking price substantially reduced and the Catalans retaining a 50% sell-on clause on him.
According to reports from the Daily Telegraph, the determination of all parties determination to secure a deal was key to sealing it, with Coutinho agreeing a humongous 70% salary drop to leave, with a new weekly wage of £125,000.
Well, the important thing is that he is now finally happy, after a long, disconsolate spell at Camp Nou.