Barcelona's record signing Philippe Coutinho is set to move to Bayern Munich on loan for the remainder of the season, the Spanish champions said on Saturday (NZT).
The Brazil midfielder travelled with Barca to their opening La Liga game of the season, which saw them lose 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao, but was left out of the matchday squad.
"We can confirm that we have reached an agreement with Bayern Munich over the loan of Coutinho," director of institutional relations Guillermo Amor told reporters.
The Brazilian is due in Munich in the coming days to finalise the deal and undergo a medical.
Bayern chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic travelled to Barcelona this week to seal the deal.
"I can confirm that I was in Barcelona with Hasan on Wednesday and that we reached an agreement with both the club and the player," Rummenigge said on the club website. "We have been watching Coutinho for a while."
"I would also like to thank Barcelona," Salihamidzic added. "Of course, a few details are still to be sorted out, but we are very happy that we will bring this player to Bayern."
Coutinho, 27, joined Barca from Liverpool in January 2018 for a club record fee of 120 million euros ($NZ207m) plus 45 million euros in add ons.
The playmaker played 76 games for the Catalans in all competitions, scoring 21 goals, but struggled to dovetail with his fellow attackers and has not had the intended impact on the team, despite winning two consecutive La Liga titles.
Reuters
