Philippe Coutinho agrees to substantial pay-cut in order to complete dream move as he waits for Aston Villa to terminate contract

Aston Villa are expected to terminate the contract of Philippe Coutinho this summer, with the Brazilian accepting a 'drastic' salary cut to complete his fairytale move.

Having impressed on a six-month loan at Villa Park, the Premier League club signed Coutinho from Barcelona in the summer of 2022 for a fee of around £17 million

He penned a four-year deal worth £125,000-a-week, according to reports, but the former Liverpool playmaker fell out of favour after a promising start to life in the Midlands.

He joined Qatari champions Al-Duhail on a season-long loan in 2023 and notched six goals and three assists for Christophe Galtier's side.

But now, the 32-year-old wants to make a long-awaited return to Brazil.

In fact, he has already reached an agreement with boyhood club Vasco da Gama, according to Globo, who suggest Coutinho and his representatives started talks a fortnight ago.

Coutinho has already given Aston Villa the green light to proceed with the termination of his contract, which runs out in 2026.

He has also accepted a drastic salary reduction join the Rio de Janeiro-based club, who will help the player develop his charitable foundation.

Botafogo, Fluminense and Gremio were also believed to be interested but it appears a return to Vasco da Gama, 16 years after he left to join Inter Milan, is very much on the cards.

Image credit: Getty

Ahead of his move to Al-Duhail last summer, Aston Villa manager Unai Emery spoke about Coutinho with great affection.

"He (Coutinho) is close to leaving, but we are waiting to see if the deal is complete or not. Philippe is a very good person and always we have to respect him as a person, firstly," he said.

"Secondly, as a player, he has played at a very high level. He has not been consistent because of injuries and we decided with him speaking and agreeing with him to try that if something is good for him, and good for the club, and for the squad, we can let him leave."

Emery added: "Then he can find his good performance as a player. Then it’s whether he completes it or not."