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Bayern sign Philippe Coutinho on loan from Barca with option to buy

Barcelona's Philippe Coutinho has joined Bayern Munich on a one-year loan worth 8.5 million euros (S$13m) with an option to buy, the Spanish club confirmed yesterday.

"The agreement provides for an option for Bayern to buy at 120m euros," Barca said.

The 27-year-old Brazilian joined Barcelona from Liverpool in January 2018, for an initial 120m euros in a deal that included another 40m euros in potential add-ons.

But the midfielder's stint at at the Nou Camp never worked out as hoped, despite huge excitement around his arrival.

Initially tried in midfield where he plays for Brazil, Coutinho was pushed into the front three by coach Ernesto Valverde last season. But the switch never paid off and fans rarely glimpsed the form he showed at Liverpool.

Coutinho, who has scored 21 goals and supplied 11 assists in 75 games for Barca in all competitions despite being unsettled, said he was delighted with the move to Germany.

"This move means a new challenge with one of the best clubs in Europe," Coutinho said on Bayern's website.

"I'm very much looking forward to that. Like Bayern, I have big ambitions and I'm convinced that I can achieve them together with my new teammates."

The German club hope he will provide reinforcement in attack, following the departure of veteran duo Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery at the end of last season.

"With his creativity and outstanding skills, Philippe is a player who will immediately strengthen our attack," Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said. - AFP

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