Has Coutinho hinted at his Barcelona exit with subtle signs?
Despite the strong statements to the contrary by his agent, there is a lot of chatter around some signals of the Brazilian preparing to leave.
These days, football agents are believed or distrusted, loved or hated, celebrated or mocked, depending on what side of the tribal fence you reside. If we give complete faith to the recent and repeated words of Philippe Coutinho's representative, Kia Joorbachian, then there is not a conversation to be had about the future of his client: he will be remaining at Barcelona for the coming season. But some signs have suggested otherwise.
Coutinho's exit signals
One of the signs that has some observers of the Brazilian star doubting the veracity of his agent's claims is that they suggest that the player - or at least his social media manager - has erased any reference to Barça in his official Instagram account. They also state that his avatar picture of him wearing the blaugrana colours has even been swapped out for one in those of his national team. (Worth noting that we don't think he referenced the club previously).
Of course, this image change could clearly just be a consequence of his joy following Brazil's Copa América triumph on home soil, with Coutinho wanting to put all the focus on that success for a short while. There have, however, been some other signs put forward as proof.
According to the radio show 'Sin Concesiones', the 27-year old has not yet registered his children for the upcoming school year in Barcelona, at least not at the centre they have so far been attending.
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Again, there may be a simple explanation for these two factors, but we are mindful that Barça's money chest could do with a little topping up following their signing of Antoine Griezmann. Then there's the whole Neymar 'cash-plus-player' saga, to consider, not to mention the abundance of forward thinking talent currently residing at the Camp Nou.
Are the preparations being made for a move despite the agent's position not having changed? Are Barça doing it without the agent's involvement? Time, and there's not much of that left this summer, will soon tell...