Unai Emery’s side have been in fine form as the season draws to a close, winning five of their last five fixtures including a 4-1 rout of Newcastle to cement their ambitions of qualifying for the Champions League again.
Villa’s first season back in Europe’s elite club competition since 1982 ended at the quarter-final stage this year, losing to Paris Saint-Germain on aggregate despite beating the French champions at Villa Park and just three points separates third-placed Nottingham Forest and seventh-placed Villa.
Emery transformed his squad during the January transfer window, bringing in both Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio on loan deals, but fans have been shocked to discover a player who has not played a single minute since 2023 is still on their books.
Former Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho remains a Villa player much to the surprise of supporters and still has one-year remaining on the contract he signed back in 2022 after completing a permanent transfer from Barcelona.
Coutinho has spent this season on loan at Vasco da Gama after spending last year at Al-Duhail following his slip down the pecking order as a result of Steven Gerrard’s dismissal
The fact the 32-year-old remains a Villa player left fans shocked on social media.
One fan said: “Still under contract until 2026 too. Just be another loan next season where they pay most of his wages.”
Another said: “Wow, I thought you were lying, it’s actually true.”
A third added: “Imagine in 2018 telling someone Rashford, Asensio and Coutinho will all be Aston Villa players in 2025.”
Coutinho recently opened up on his struggles after a record-breaking move from Liverpool to Barcelona back in 2018.
His time in Spain didn’t go to plan and he was eventually loaned out to Bayern Munich prior to making his loan spell in Birmingham permanent.
Nevertheless, the Brazilian claims he has ‘no regrets’ over the move.
I needed to change teams, right? I wasn’t in Barcelona’s plans anymore,” he told Premier League Stories. “I needed to play, right? And go to a club that wanted me.
“Well, it was mainly because of (Steven) Gerrard (that I joined Aston Villa). He was the coach. I remember he called me on the phone and we talked and saw that there was this possibility to go there on loan. It was great to go there but things also didn’t happen as we expected.
had this dream to play for Barcelona. Then the opportunity presented itself and I couldn’t say ‘No’ to my dream.
So, I have no regrets about everything I experienced, all the places I’ve been. I gave my all, was very professional and tried to do my best.
It worked out well at some clubs, while not so much at others. But that’s football. But I don’t have any regrets, only thanks and gratitude for every club I’ve been at.”
