Barcelona locals believe Philippe Coutinho’s house is cursed after Nou Camp struggles

Castelldefels locals are joking that Coutinho's home is the secret reason behind his poor form

Former Liverpool playmaker Philippe Coutinho has been having a relatively tough time of it of late at Barcelona, the club who bought him for £142 million just over a year ago. Such is the extent of his struggles that local residents in the city have started blaming the Brazilian midfielder's home as the reason behind the inconsistent performances - citing the fact that the building had previously been occupied by Cesc Fabregas, Thomas Vermaelen and Andre Gomes. The house, which former Reds teammate Luis Suarez helped him find, was bought by Fabregas just months before he was sold to Chelsea. Belgium international Vermaelen then moved in, before suffering lengthy spells on the sidelines through injury. After that, it was current Everton loanee Andre Gomes who stayed there, like Coutinho another attacking midfielder that couldn't quite seem to find his feet at the Nou Camp. Locals now joke that the house is jinxed, with Coutinho now appearing fairly like to leave the club after scoring just nine goals in over 40 appearances. Numerous sources are claiming that Barca would be open to selling the forward should they receive a bid upward of €100m (£85m) this summer. Manchester United, Chelsea and those nefarious oil barrens PSG have all been linked with the player, yet it remains unclear whether any club is willing to meet Barcelona's hefty demands and help them recoup their losses.