Philippe Coutinho getting linked with FC Barcelona has been one of the biggest transfer sagas of the summer transfer window 2017 in football. As is expected, the Catalan giants will be entering the fray once more a few days from now when the winter transfer window opens.
But will the Brazilian, who has found the prime of his form now lately under Jurgen Klopp, be still interested in making the switch to La Liga? Coutinho, along with compatriot Roberto Firmino and Egyptian star Mohamed Salah, has formed a formidable combination at Liverpool FC.
While Barca's next offer for Coutinho remains to be seen, sensational comments have come in from the legendary Brazilian footballer Ronaldo, who had played for both Barcelona and Real Madrid in his career.
In case you are unaware, Barcelona already made three highly-lucrative bids for Coutinho in the summer and Liverpool threw all of them to the bin. As per some reports now, the La Liga giants are contemplating launching a fresh €120m bid for the Brazilian this January.
Ronaldo Nazario, who played for Barca in the 1996-97 season, however warns that Brazilian players have never been treated well at Barcelona.
"I felt much more happy and more connected to Real Madrid, despite having lived a great year in Barcelona," the Sun quoted Ronaldo, 41, who played for Real Madrid between 2002 and 2007, as saying. "In the end, my history with Barça was very bad, similar to the one Neymar had.
"Barcelona has always had issues with Brazilian players: Neymar, Romario, Ronaldinho and me. We were all treated badly by the club in the end, despite all our contributions and dedication."
Time for Coutinho now to take these eye opening statements from Ronaldo seriously? That remains to be seen in the coming days. As of now, Coutinho needs to continue his stunning form to become that great a player which he has always wanted to become.
As of December 29, Coutinho has a total of 12 goals from 19 appearances in all competitions this 2017-18 football season. His contract at Anfield runs until June 30, 2022.
