- Coutinho has spent the season on loan with Vasco da Gama in his native Brazil
- He was carrying out a TV interview when shots outside the ground were heard
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An interview involving former Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho had to be paused after gunshots were heard at his latest side’s training ground.
The Brazilian has spent the season on loan in his native Brazil, playing for Vasco da Gama in Rio de Janeiro in Serie A while still technically contracted to Aston Villa.
He has suffered a tough time since leaving Liverpool for Barcelona in 2018, initially moving for £130million. After just a few months of struggling to settle, he headed on loan to Bayern Munich, but things didn’t work out there either.
Another loan spell would see him enjoy a brief career revival under former Reds team-mate Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa, and his move was made permanent, with Villa coughing up £17m for his services.
Things soon went south, however, and last season he went on loan to Al Duhail in Qatar before heading to Brazil for this campaign. He will almost certainly be released by Villa when his contract expires at the end of next season, if nothing is agreed before that.
He may now want to think twice about heading back to Vasco da Gama, though, after his interview was paused due to some background noise.
A recent Philippe Coutinho’s interview was halted due to gunshots being heard outside of his side’s training ground
Coutinho initially cracked a smile but went onto to try and identify where they shots were coming from
Coutinho’s side last won a trophy in 2011, and are currently 13th in the Brazilian top flight
He enjoyed the best years of his career at Liverpool before signing for Barcelona for £130m
In the clip of the interview with Brazilian TV channel Globo, Coutinho could be seen speaking before the gunshots were heard, resulting in a smirk.
He then began laughing, before continuing the interview, when more shots were heard. While still talking, Coutinho closed his eyes before laughing again.
The midfielder then appeared to talk to someone behind the camera before his smile dropped and he began pointing to seemingly try and work out where they were coming from.
More than 20 shots in total were heard during the 32-second clip.
According to Globo, the training ground – Moacyr Barbosa – was opened in 2020 and is located near Cidade de Deus, which is a region that has seen a high number of violent incidents in recent years.
Club staff have described hearing gunshots as normal, with the noise suggested to be due to the heavy presence of police in the area.
Coutinho’s side last won a trophy in 2011, and are currently 13th in the Brazilian top flight.
