Aston Villa will tear up Philippe Coutinho’s contract to allow him to rejoin Vasco da Gama, it has been claimed.

Coutinho joined Villa from Barcelona in 2022 but found opportunities hard to come by after Steven Gerrard – the manager who brought him to Villa Park – was dismissed. He spent last season on loan at Qatari club Al-Duhail but now looks set for a permanent exit.

The Brazil international was once one of the most expensive players in world football when he left Liverpool for Barcelona in 2018. That £142million move was far from a success, though, with Barca taking a significant hit when selling him on four years later.

Now, things appear to be going full circle. Coutinho began his career with Vasco before moving to Europe as a teenager and now looks set to return to the Rio de Janeiro club.

According to reports on the continent (via The Echo), Villa are ready to let Coutinho become a free agent. The 32-year-old is understood to be among the higher earners at the club, who qualified for the Champions League in May.

Villa will want to balance the books as they prepare for European football under Unai Emery. That means trimming the wage bill in addition to making player sales.

When it comes to sales, Coutinho’s compatriot Douglas Luiz could be on the way out. Juventus are keen on the former Manchester City man, though they too will need to offload some players before making significant additions under new manager Thiago Motta.

At the end of May, reports suggested Coutinho was in advanced talks with Vasco. The playmaker was said to have indicated “everyone already knows” what his next step would be.

After coming through the academy at his boyhood club, he joined Inter Milan when Jose Mourinho was in the dugout. However, he remained in Rio for two seasons on loan and only made his bow for the Nerazzurri after the manager had moved on.

He impressed during an initial loan at Villa Park, scoring five times in 19 outings, but failed to hit the same heights after a £17m permanent switch from Barcelona in the summer of 2022. He didn’t complete a full 90 minutes after Unai Emery took over from Gerrard, and played just 24 minutes last season before his loan exit.

The spell in Qatar brought seven goals and three assists, with three of those goals in the league as Al-Duhail finished sixth of 12 teams. They have not pushed for a permanent move, freeing him up to return to Brazil.