Philippe Coutinho will get “back to his best” if he finds a move into Chelsea this summer, according to Rivaldo, who admits his fellow Brazilian has not been able to live up to the tremendous expectations in Barcelona.
Coutinho emerged among the brightest young talents of his generation throughout a week-long spell in Liverpool, before choosing to finish a big-money transfer to Spain in January 2018.
Barcelona snapped the 27-year-old upwards for $176m and tied him down to some five-year contract in Camp Nou, but his first full season in the club didn’t go according to plan.
Coutinho led 11 goals to Barca’s trigger across all competitions but fought to stick out at a side filled with world class actors like Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.
Ernesto Valverde finally took the decision to ship the Brazil global on loan to Bayern, that have the choice to sign him permanently at the conclusion of this present season. But, Coutinho is additionally being heavily connected with a return to the Premier League, together with Chelsea reportedly leading the race for his signature forward of Tottenham.
Rivaldo believes that Stamford Bridge is a “good choice” to get Coutinho and expects to see him recover his confidence before their next Copa America and World Cup.
The Barca legend advised Betfair: “Following a year and a half in Barcelona and a more in Bayern Munich without handling to get the identical success he had at Liverpool, I think this opportunity Philippe Coutinho currently has of continuing his career in Chelsea might be a fantastic alternative.”
“He will proceed to a huge club and into a nation and rivalry he understands well where he had his best years up to now, so if this transfer actually happens, I am convinced he will have a fantastic prospect of seeing things improve for him later on after he has shined about the Premier League before.
“Considering Coutinho’s previous couple of years we could say he did not realize what was expected of him but he has time to recoup his very best soccer and together with his confidence back he would easily come to be the identical player he was at Liverpool.”
“I believe this to be only a not-so-good spell for him personally, but we can not state he is playing badly since it could be a lie, but matters are not really running and many would anticipate after he left Liverpool to subscribe to Barcelona.
“He’s still a regular at the Brazilian national team and hasn’t been blessed enough at Barcelona or even Bayern, but maybe that may change with a brand new club and I feel this could be a wonderful prospect for him to contact his very best football at Chelsea.
“Additionally, next year we will have Copa America and one year after the World Cup, so it’d be significant for Coutinho to be playing in a fantastic European team in order to not lose his place at the national group when those huge championships come.”