Philippe Coutinho's New Number at FC Barcelona
He has already signed the contract, been presented, and greeted his new fans. The only thing left to confirm is the number that Philippe Coutinho will wear in his new adventure at FC Barcelona. It has been widely speculated that he will wear Arda Turan's '7'. Some fans even have Coutinho jerseys with that number. However, in Catalonia they assure that it will be a different number.
According to the radio program "Club de la Mitjanit," the former Liverpool player would wear the legendary '14' jersey, which currently belongs to Mascherano. However, Mascherano's imminent departure to Chinese football would make the aforementioned number available.
Discover Philippe Coutinho's love story. (Video: Fernando Falco / Design: Marcelo Hidalgo)
Having confirmed his 20-day absence due to injury, Coutinho will wait until the end of the month to show off his new number. This is because Mascherano is expected to leave Barcelona after eight seasons. The 'Jefecito' already has everything arranged with Hebei Fortune in Chinese football.
With his arrival at Barcelona, Coutinho is among the most expensive players in history, second only to his compatriot Neymar (€222 million) and the Frenchman Kylian Mbappé (€180 million), both from Paris Saint-Germain.
"I am very happy to be here. It's my dream, and I hope to meet all expectations on the field," Coutinho said with a timid smile during his official presentation last Monday at Camp Nou in front of thousands of fans.