He was at one point the second most expensive player in the world and once joined Bayern Munich. Now Philippe Coutinho has found a home at FC Santos – on a free transfer and on a trial basis.
Philippe Coutinho is back on the football scene. A video released by FC Santos shows the 34-year-old stepping off a plane and being presented with a number 19 shirt from the iconic Brazilian club.
“I’m really very happy to be joining a big club, to get back on my feet and, of course, to wear a shirt,” said Coutinho. “To be at a club where Pelé played – that’s really something special. And, of course, to play alongside Neymar, who is a fantastic player and a great idol.”
This is the first time the two have played together at a club; previously, they had only done so for the Selecao. And they’ve been doing so since their youth days; after all, both were born in 1992. “We’ve always got on very well, and we also played together in a World Cup for the senior national team. It’s always been a pleasure for me.”
€120 million as a priceless burden
Coutinho has had an eventful career. He moved from his youth club, Vasco da Gama, to Inter Milan in 2010, before Liverpool FC signed him in January 2013. It was there that the attacking midfielder truly came into his own – so much so that FC Barcelona signed him for 120 million euros in January 2018. This made him the second most expensive player in the world, behind Neymar, who had left Barcelona for PSG six months earlier for 222 million euros. He now ranks 12th on the list of the most expensive signings.
However, the injury-prone Coutinho was never able to live up to the Catalans’ expectations; even during his one-year loan spell at Bayern Munich in the 2019/20 season, he failed to set the world alight despite winning the treble. In 2022, he made another attempt at Aston Villa, but there too he was unable to regain his former form.
Departure from Vasco da Gama due to mental exhaustion
In the summer of 2024, he returned to his youth club, Vasco da Gama, but his contract was terminated in February 2026. “To be honest, I’m completely mentally exhausted,” Coutinho wrote on social media at the time. “It is with a heavy heart that I realise it is now time to take a step back and bring this chapter at Vasco to a close.”
Coutinho is now making his next attempt at FC Santos, albeit more or less on probation. His contract with Neymar’s club runs only until the end of 2026.
