The Reason Why People Are Convinced Coutinho Will Join Barcelona On 1 January

In the early hours of this morning, Nike sent the footballing world into a frenzy when they basically confirmed Philippe Coutinho as a Barcelona player.

Despite the Brazilian acting professionally and getting with things after the summer saga, the Barca interest just won't go away and out of nowhere, Nike's official website posted a leak.

At first, I was sceptical and thought it was a fake photoshop but my eyes were not deceiving me, it's genuinely legitimate.

And straight after the now deleted ad was posted, some fans began to channel their inner Columbo and did a bit of detective work.

Several eagle-eyed fans picked up on the fact that although when you clicked on "Shop Coutinho's look" the URL was broken, the numbers in the link are very, very interesting.

That's because it says '2018, 01, 01' - which has led many to believe that this was not a hack of any sorts, someone at Nike merely posted the piece a day early.

Is the massive move finally happening after the endless speculation?

Sound off in the comments.

Topics: Liverpool, Barcelona, Philippe Coutinho

Josh Lawless

Josh is a writer who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

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