Former Liverpool favourite urges Coutinho to make Barca move

Michael Graham

Philippe Coutinho should be starting to consider quitting Liverpool and joining Barcelona, says former Anfield favourite Luis Garcia.

Countinho has long been linked with the La Liga giants, and that speculation was renewed this week when Brazil team-mate Neymar urged him to join him at the Nou Camp.

Garcia agrees that he would be a fine fit for the Catalan club, but says Coutinho should focus on Liverpool until Andres Iniesta’s star has faded.

“It is not the first time he has been linked to Barcelona and it would be a tough call for him, but hopefully he decides to stay at Liverpool,” Garcia told TalkSPORT.

“Coutinho is a very important player for Liverpool and, as a former player from both teams and the love I have for both of them, I would like to see Coutinho for a few more years in a red shirt.

“Coutinho is still a very young player. Iniesta is maybe going to be in the first team for two of three more years and with the quality and technique that Coutinho has got it would be a brilliant time for the team [for him to join].”