Here we go! Coutinho joins Santos to reunite with Neymar until the end of the year
A reunion years in the making is official: Philippe Coutinho will sign for Santos, here we go, and will share a pitch with Neymar once more.
Details: Fabrizio Romano reports that Coutinho, 34, has agreed a deal with Santos until the end of the year, arriving as a free agent with his medical scheduled for Friday. The move comes after Neymar publicly campaigned for the signing, calling the chance to play with his close friend a dream.
It is a gamble wrapped in romance. Coutinho has not played a competitive match since February 14, when he featured for Vasco da Gama in the Campeonato Carioca, and his fitness at 34 was the one doubt Santos weighed before pulling the trigger. But the price was right, no transfer fee, a short deal, and a dressing room that suddenly reads like a Brazil reunion tour: Neymar, recently decisive in bringing Arthur, and now Coutinho, the man with whom he grew up in the Selecao youth ranks. For the former Liverpool and Barcelona magician, once a 160 million euro signing, it is a final chapter on home soil. For Santos, fighting to secure their Serie A status, it is star power and, they hope, a few last flashes of the old magic.
It's worth noting that Coutinho and Neymar last shared a club pitch at Barcelona, and their friendship dates back to Brazil's U17 side more than 15 years ago.
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Miguel Solomons
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