Philippe Coutinho will soon conclude hid loan spell with Bayern Munich, and due to his high price tag, the German giants are opting out of a permanent deal. The Brazilian will return to Barcelona, but it will be a brief reunion - the Catalans want to sell him. Lionel Messi, however, is stepping in so his team can change course.
Reportedly, the Barca captain is taking action upon hearing of the move by Camp Nou to put the Brazil international on the market for £105 million. Several teams are interested, and the following head the pack: Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham, Arsenal, and Paris Saint-Germain.
These clubs, however, will need to wait as Metro reported that Messi disapproves of the plan to offload Coutinho.
"Messi has been angered by how the club have treated the former Liverpool midfielder ... Messi and Barca's senior players would prefer [Ousmane] Dembele to be sold instead," said the report.
Like Coutinho, Dembele is struggling with Barcelona due to injury woes. The Frenchman has been with the club since 2017 but only started in 35 games. Per the same report, Messi and many of his teammates are convinced that before Coutinho, it is Dembele who should get the ax first.
The protest voiced out by the Argentine superstar, and his teammates will not necessarily mean that the Brazilian winger will remain with Barcelona. It is no secret that the Spanish giants are building up on new talents, and the move to sell Coutinho is part of the plan to raise money for talent acquisitions.
A priority target identified by the Catalans is PSG striker Neymar. According to Express, Messi is well aware of the fact that bringing back Neymar will cost a lot of money, meaning players will need to be sold for the Brazilian superstar's Camp Nou homecoming.
It is understood that while Messi and a number of his fellow senior players have made known their sentiments on the Coutinho sale, they will not prevent his move out if that will pave the way for Neymar's return to Spain.
Recently, Barcelona coach Quique Setien has indicated that it's possible for Coutinho to still play for the club after his loan deal with Bayern.
"I am counting on him for when next season starts. I don't know what he wants, maybe I will have to speak with him to ask. He is a great player, no doubt," the club manager was reported as saying.
In reality, though, Coutinho's fate at Barcelona will not depend on the preference of Setien and the sentiments coming from Messi and his fellow players. It will be a business decision that will benefit Barcelona in the end.
As Setien made clear: "I like him a lot and in principle, he's a Barcelona player. They [any interested club] would have to pay his clause or offer a sum, which the club would accept."
