Vasco da Gama has announced the return of midfielder Philippe Coutinho, one of the greatest idols of the Brazilian team, who will play for the Rio de Janeiro club until May 2025 on loan from Aston Villa, with whom he has a contract until June 2026.

The former Brazilian national team player and former player for clubs such as Barcelona, Liverpool, and Inter Milan, aged 32, will return to the club where he was developed after 14 seasons abroad, thanks to a loan contract, the Rio de Janeiro entity reported on social media.

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Negotiations between Vasco and Coutinho began in May, when the loan contract under which the midfielder was playing at Al-Duhail concluded, and had been considered a done deal for several days due to the player’s desire to return to the Rio de Janeiro team.

The midfielder was also of interest to other Brazilian clubs, such as Botafogo, Cruzeiro, Fluminense, and Gremio, but his will to return to Vasco prevailed, to the point that he agreed to a salary reduction.

Coutinho began his professional career at Vasco in 2009 and a year later, at 19, was signed by Inter Milan. In 2012 he was loaned to Espanyol. In 2013 he was signed by Liverpool, where he stood out with the number "10" shirt and scored 54 goals in 201 appearances.

Coutinho took the place left by Neymar at Barcelona, but at the Spanish club, with whom he won the league twice, he did not achieve the same regularity. At Bayern Munich, he participated in the campaign that culminated in the 2020 Champions League title.

With the Brazilian national team, for which he played in the 2018 World Cup and was one of the trusted men of then-coach Tite, he won the 2019 Copa América and has scored 21 goals.