JAKARTA - Barcelona will face Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals on Friday, August 14, in Lisbon. In this match, Philippe Coutinho is in the spotlight.
Not without reason. The Brazilian is on loan for one season at Bayern Munich. The Bundesliga giants will certainly not exercise the purchase option for the attacking midfielder for 120 million euros.
But ironically, Coutinho - who joined Barcelona from Liverpool in January 2018 for a fee of 160 million euros - has the potential to become a stumbling block for Los Blaugrana in the Champions League.
After a season of ups and downs and suffering an ankle injury that prevented him from playing at the end of the season, Coutinho played almost half an hour against Chelsea last Saturday. Now, he has the opportunity to appear against Barcelona and prove himself to the club that owns him.
However, even though the 28-year-old has done well and must return to Catalunya this summer, he is certainly not part of Barca's plans for next season. So far, there has been talk that he will be loaned out at Arsenal.
At the moment, Coutinho may not have thought much about his future. For the former Inter Milan player, scaring Barcelona and being eliminated from the most prestigious competition in the Blue Continent is the main focus.
The opportunity is open. Because the Champions League quarter-finals and semi-finals will only be played once at Sporting CP Estadio Jose Alvalade.
UEFA also does not allow so-called 'fear clauses' that apply in Spain. This meant that Coutinho - on loan from Barcelona - was given permission to play against his home team.
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