He was signed by Serie A club Inter Milan in 2008 for €4 million and subsequently loaned back to Vasco, where he became a key player.

He was loaned to German club Bayern Munich for the 2019–20 season, being part of the team that won a treble of Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and UEFA Champions League.

"[13] On 27 August, Coutinho made his debut for Inter as a substitute during a 2–0 defeat to Atlético Madrid in the 2010 UEFA Super Cup.

[14] After dropping out of selection in the starting line-up, he returned to play in the crucial 3–2 win over Bayern Munich in Germany, which saw Inter progress to the quarter-final of the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League.

[18] Following the expiry of his loan deal with Espanyol, Coutinho returned to Inter Milan but once again struggled to find game time at the San Siro, making just 10 league appearances and scoring one goal in the 2012–13 season.

[20] On 26 January 2013, Premier League club Liverpool agreed an £8.5 million transfer fee with Inter Milan for Coutinho, pending a medical exam and a work permit.

[29] Coutinho then scored Liverpool's final goal of the season against Queens Park Rangers, executing a driven shot from 30 yards out after being played in by Jordon Ibe.

The result put Liverpool seven points ahead of Manchester City at the top of the 2013–14 Premier League table with four matches remaining.

[45][46][47] On 9 August 2015, Coutinho scored the winning goal in the 86th minute with a curling 25-yard shot in Liverpool's first match of the 2015–16 Premier League, a 1–0 victory away to Stoke City.

[48][49] He was sent off on 29 August in a 3–0 home defeat to West Ham United, being booked the first time for dissent and the second for a foul on Dimitri Payet.

[52] On 5 January 2016, Coutinho suffered a hamstring injury in a 1–0 away win over Stoke City in the first leg of the 2015–16 League Cup semi-finals, which sidelined him for five weeks.

[citation needed] On 9 February, he returned to score a goal to make it 1–1 against West Ham United in the 2015–16 FA Cup, although Liverpool lost 2–1 after extra time.

[citation needed] After 11 league matches, Liverpool reached the top of the table for the first time since May 2014, with Coutinho having played an important role.

[citation needed] In January 2017, Coutinho signed a new five-year contract with no release clause with Liverpool which would keep him at the club until June 2022.

[65] Coutinho made his first appearance of the 2017–18 season for Liverpool on 13 September, coming on as a substitute in the 75th minute of a 2–2 draw against Sevilla in the 2017–18 Champions League.

[69] On 6 December, Coutinho captained Liverpool for the first time in the absence of Jordan Henderson in a 7–0 home win against Spartak Moscow in the final group stage match of the season's Champions League, in which he scored his first hat-trick for the club.

[73] Coutinho played what transpired to be his final match for Liverpool on 30 December 2017, featuring prominently in a 2–1 home win against Leicester City.

[83] Coutinho made his debut on 25 January, in a 2–0 (2–1 on aggregate) win against Espanyol in the quarter-final of the 2017–18 Copa del Rey, coming on as a 68th-minute substitute.

[84] Assisted by Luis Suárez, Coutinho scored his first Barcelona goal on 8 February against Valencia in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals just four minutes after coming on as a half-time substitute.

[87] On 16 April 2019, Coutinho scored a goal in a 3–0 win over Manchester United in the Champions League quarter-finals, which he celebrated by putting his fingers in his ears and closing his eyes in response to recent criticism from fans.

"[89] However, Coutinho won his second La Liga title with Barcelona in the 2018–19 season, in which he played 54 matches in all competitions, scoring 11 goals.

[104] On 12 May 2022, Coutinho signed for Aston Villa permanently for an undisclosed transfer fee, reported to be £17 million, on a four-year contract.

[115] Coutinho was included in Brazil's squad for the 2015 Copa América,[116] and he scored his first international goal on 7 June during a 2–0 friendly win over Mexico at Allianz Parque.

[122] On 17 June 2018, he scored on his World Cup debut with a right-footed curling shot from outside the penalty area into the corner of the goal in Brazil's 1–1 draw with Switzerland in the group stage.

[124] On 6 July, he assisted Renato Augusto's goal in a 2–1 quarter-final defeat to Belgium as Brazil were eliminated from the World Cup.

[128] He played in Brazil's 3–1 win over Peru in the final on 7 July at the Maracanã Stadium, helping the national team to their first major trophy in 12 years.

[130] After going through 2021 without making an international appearance, Coutinho returned to the national team's line-up for 2022 World Cup qualifiers in early 2022, scoring against Paraguay and Chile.

[132][133] Due to his dribbling ability, pace and agility,[4][134][135] he has been compared to Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho by his former Espanyol manager Mauricio Pochettino, who also said, "Philippe... he has a special magic in his feet.

"[136] Former Brazilian striker Careca has also compared Coutinho to Zico due to his creativity,[135] and was highly praised by his Liverpool teammates.

[140] He has a penchant for scoring from curling shots with his right foot from just outside or well outside the penalty area, especially after cutting inside from the left flank, and placing the ball into the top corner of the goal, which has led his former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp to compare him to Alessandro Del Piero.