Barcelona superstar Neymar would like Liverpool playmaker Philippe Coutinho to join him at the Camp Nou, according to Don Balon. The Spanish newspaper also reports the Brazilian has recruited the help of teammate Luis Suarez.
Suarez has given his approval to persuading Coutinho to join Barca, and Neymar, who recently signed a new deal to stay with Barca, told Don Balon that the Reds star is an excellent player:
“Coutinho is a great player, I’d play with him at Barça.”
Although it seems like an innocuous piece of praise for a fellow Brazilian international, Don Balon believe that there is more substance to it than that. Neymar has lost a number of influential Brazilian team mates in the summer with Dani Alves, Adriano and Barca B player Douglas all departing the club, and he is keen to increase the contingent of players from his own country.
Suarez meanwhile is a close friend of Coutinho’s. The Uruguayan striker made a point of visiting his former Reds team mate in Liverpool, travelling a short distance from his Manchester hotel before Barcelona’s match against Manchester City last week.
Diario Gol on the other hand are reporting that Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has made Coutinho his number one target if Real’s appeal against their transfer ban is successful at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
