Barcelona have loaned Philippe Coutinho to Bayern Munich for the season. The deal will cost Bayern £7.8m plus wages and the agreement also includes an option to buy fixed at £109.8m.

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“Barcelona would like to publicly thank Philippe Coutinho for his commitment and dedication,” said an official statement, that also wished him “all the best in this new stage of his career”.

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Coutinho joined Barcelona from Liverpool in January 2018 but struggled to produce the form he showed at Anfield. His future has been the subject of speculation throughout a summer in which Barcelona signed Antoine Griezmann, and Coutinho was not part of the squad for their first league game of the season, a 1-0 defeat by Athletic Bilbao. Coutinho scored 21 goals in 75 games in all competitions for Barcelona, also contributing 11 assists.

Speaking to Bayern’s website, Coutinho said: “For me, this move means a new challenge in a new country with one of the best clubs in Europe. I’m very much looking forward to that. Like Bayern, I have big ambitions and I’m convinced I can achieve them together with my new teammates.”

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The Bayern chief executive, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, said: “We’ve been working on bringing in Philippe Coutinho for quite some time and we’re very happy we’ve been able to complete this transfer. Our thanks go to Barcelona for agreeing to the transfer. With his creativity and outstanding skills, Philippe is a player who will immediately strengthen our attack.”