After completing his move to Aston Villa permanently, Philippe Coutinho has reflected on his Barcelona career in an interview with the Daily Mail.
“Barcelona was not the experience I expected, but life is like that. The only time I was worried was when I got injured. I was out for nine months and had three operations. Then, I was worried about playing again and things like that. Now everything is normal, I’m very happy and I just want to continue here (at Aston Villa).”
Coutinho, who is still Barcelona’s most expensive signing of all time at a fee of more than £142 million, claims that he has no regrets about the move despite the topsy-turvy nature of his stint.
“I don’t regret anything. Everything is part of life’s ups and downs. My dream was to play for Barcelona since I was a child. But now it’s in the past.”
The Brazilian attacking midfielder explained that his time at Barcelona was a huge learning curve: “I also learned in that time. There were difficult moments, but it made me stronger mentally. That aspect is important to me.”
GSFN