Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona: Coutinho dropped, as player agrees deal with new club

Phillipe Coutinho has been left out of Barcelona’s squad to play Athletic Bilbao on Friday night, as he has agreed to join Bayern Munich on loan, RAC reports.

The LaLiga champions are already without their injured captain Lionel Messi and will be without Coutinho too, as he is set to leave for Germany.

Barca have been trying to offload the Brazilian playmaker all summer after he became surplus to requirements.

With the summer signing of Antoine Griezmann and the pursuit of Neymar, Coutinho always knew his future was outside the Camp Nou.

The 27-year-old was linked with a return to the Premier League before the English transfer window last week, but proposed moves to both Tottenham and Arsenal failed to materialise.