Philippe Coutinho is reportedly costing Bayern Munich over half a million pounds per game after arriving on loan from Barcelona in the summer.
Bayern fought off interest from Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham to secure the silky Brazilian’s signature and have an option to buy him at the end of the season for around £100 million.
However, the Munich club’s board will have to think long and hard about whether he is financially worth it, after a report from the Daily Mail broke that he is costing Bayern £563,000 per 90 minutes.
If you take into consideration his annual salary of £21 million and add his £7 million loan fee on top of that, then divide that by the number of games that Bayern are expected to play across various competitions, you arrive at the eye-watering figure.
Coutinho is earning around £8 million more than the next highest paid player at Bayern, Robert Lewandowksi, and looking at Coutinho’s performances in Bavaria, that is something that is hard to justify.
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In 15 games in all competitions this season, Coutinho has managed just two goals and three assists despite Bayern being the joint top scorers in the Bundesliga this term.
He made a bright start to life in Germany but his form has dwindled and he has found himself on the bench for the last two games, with Thomas Muller selected ahead of him.
The 27-year-old should be hitting his prime right now but instead finds himself sitting on the sidelines again, just as he was in Barcelona.
It is hard not to wonder what would have happened had he stayed at table-topping Liverpool, where he netted 41 times in 152 outings.
However, there could be hope for him yet with Bayern changing managers and if new coach Hans-Dieter Flick restores him to the lineup, we could see the Coutinho that was ripping up the Premier League two years ago return to the global stage.