5 reasons why moving to Barcelona will make Philippe Coutinho a Ballon d'Or contender

#1 He should be Barca’s main man

New Barcelona Signing Philippe Coutinho Unveiled — Coutinho could be Barca's main man for years to come

As was touched upon in the previous slide, while Lionel Messi remains the superstar for Barcelona right now, at age 30 he won’t go on forever. But strangely enough, the same could be said for a lot of Barca’s best players.

Andres Iniesta, one of the most iconic players to pull on a Barca shirt is now 33; Gerard Pique is 30 and even Luis Suarez is no spring chicken, as he turns 31 this week. And so Coutinho, at just 25 years old, has clearly been signed with the future firmly in mind.

In this surprisingly ageing Barcelona squad then, Coutinho stands out as the man who should see the team built around him for the next few seasons at least. French forward Ousmane Dembele – who cost Barca a huge £100m+ fee in the summer – is just 20, but he isn’t the finished product yet and has been suffering with injury problems.

Sure, Barca could easily sign another superstar or two, but the money they paid for Coutinho suggests they want him as their main man.

This is actually a contrast to Liverpool, where Coutinho could be argued as being behind Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane in the pecking order of most important players.

Now he’s suddenly the main man in the squad – or will be in little time at all – the likelihood of Coutinho winning the Ballon d’Or rises massively. After all, it’s usually a successful team’s biggest star who wins the award.

About the author

Scott is a veteran MMA writer with over two decades of experience, including his ongoing tenure in Sportskeeda, which began seven years ago. He has written over 3000 pieces for the organization, while also covering football. Before joining Sportskeeda, Scott wrote articles for websites like The Oratory and Inside Pulse MMA.

Scott has a degree in history, which drives his research skills and helps him compile accurate information. His long stint in the field helps Scott provide a clear take on important topics, such as the criticism of promotions regarding fighter pay. While he feels fighters deserve a bigger revenue share, he doesn’t want MMA to suffer with purse-split issues.

Scott’s work has been previously reshared by the former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman. He uses credible sources, such as the UFC’s official website, during the writing process.

His dedication to MMA writing won him the Feature Writer of the Month award for Sportskeeda in November 2021.

Outside of work, Scott likes to go to the gym, walk his dog, and travel.

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Edited by Shambhu Ajith