Article body analysed
By LEWIS BROWNING Published: 18: 33 AEST, 23 May 2025 | Updated: 19: 11 AEST, 23 May 2025 View comments 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.
Share what you think
No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts,
or debate this issue live on our message boards.
By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your Mail Online comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to Mail Online as usual. Do you want to automatically post your Mail Online comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to Mail Online as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on Mail Online. To do this we will link your Mail Online account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy. Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group