Philippe Coutinho has already changed his squad number at Barcelona.
After arriving from Liverpool in January, Coutinho was handed the No. 14 jersey but he has been given a more suitable shirt for his first full season with the Catalan giants.
Barcelona announced on Thursday afternoon that Coutinho would wear the No. 7 jersey moving forward.
The No. 7 was most recently held by Arda Turan but, in the past, it has famously been worn by the likes of Luis Figo, Pep Guardiola and David Villa.
It’s also been reported in recent days that Barcelona are in the process of trying to obtain a Portuguese passport for Coutinho in an attempt to free up a third non-European Union playing spot in their squad, according to ESPN FC.
👕 @Phil_Coutinho has a new shirt number
👍 Which is it? Find out here 👉 https://t.co/Tl3TQSYDI1 👈
🔵🔴 #ForçaBarça pic.twitter.com/ffwgg5xxGh— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) August 9, 2018
Brazil’s Coutinho currently fills one of those spots but the playmaker is eligible to be considered for a Portuguese passport Portuguese passport through his wife, Aine.
Barcelona hope to get this sorted before the deadline of the Supercopa de Espana clash with Sevilla on Sunday because La Liga only allows three non-EU players in any matchday squad.
Ernesto Valverde is expected to sell the likes of Yerry Mina and Marlon Santos, both of whom currently fill non-EU spots, in the coming days while the Barca manager hopes to have new signings Malcolm, Arturo Vidal and Arthur Melo occupy the spots, pending the decision on Coutinho.
