Brazil legend Ronaldo has slammed Barcelona to give Liverpool playmaker Philippe Coutinho serious consideration ahead of any potential move to the Camp Nou. Coutinho is in hot form at the moment for the Reds this season despite being denied a dream move last summer to the Catalan giants.
Regardless of being rebuffed thrice in the summer by the Reds, Barcelona remain interested in the Brazilian and could come again for him this January transfer window. But his countryman and iconic Brazil No.9 claims he had a different emotional attachment with Real Madrid and the fans made him feel more welcome than his time at the Camp Nou.
“I felt much more happy and more connected to Real Madrid, despite having lived a great year in Barcelona,” Ronaldo told Esporte Interativo.
“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.”
Like Ronaldo’s counsel, Coutinho also has a piece of advice from his Brazilian teammate, Paulinho regarding a move to join the Catalan giants.
Paulinho, who greatly surprised the world when he joined Lionel Messi and co from China in the summer, has told the Reds’ No.10 to relax and just bide his time before making a concrete decision.
“I would advise him [Coutinho] to be calm, to leave any anxiety aside,” Paulinho told Mundo Deportivo, as reported by Mirror.
“I also went through that when I was in China. You have to think about the decision you are going to make. I think that if he has the opportunity to come, he won’t regret it.”
Coutinho guided Liverpool to a 5-0 victory over strugglers Swansea City on Boxing Day in the Premier League. The Brazilian opened the scoring at Anfield in the 6th minute with a long-range effort to give the Reds the lead at the break, before a brace from compatriot Roberto Firmino, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain sealed the deal for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
It remains to be seen whether Coutinho takes Ronaldo and Paulinho’s suggestion over leaving for Barcelona.
