Ambitious Liverpool playmaker Philippe Coutinho would bring 'a lot' to Barcelona, says Luis Suarez
Suarez believes former Reds teammate obviously must have wanted to move to the Nou Camp during the summer.
Luis Suarez remains in contact with Philippe Coutinho and believes the Liverpool playmaker would bring "a lot" to Barcelona should he eventually follow in his footsteps and swap Anfield for the Nou Camp.
Coutinho's prospective move to Barcelona was arguably the most high-profile of a number of protracted summer window sagas, with the player eventually submitting a transfer request in order to try and force through a move.
Liverpool rejected multiple lucrative bids and refused to alter their "not for sale" stance before the Spanish deadline, although are expected to see that stern resolve tested once again when the market reopens for business in January as rumours continue to swirl.
Suarez was the last player to tread the path from Merseyside to Catalonia three years after Javier Mascherano did likewise, joining for a £75m ($98.4m) fee back in 2014.
He played alongside Coutinho for one-and-a-half seasons before that switch, with the duo forming a pivotal part of the team that almost ended Liverpool's lengthy top-flight title drought under Brendan Rodgers.
Speaking about the Brazilian during an interview with Mundo Deportivo, Suarez revealed he has spoken to his former Reds teammate and believes he evidently wanted to join Barcelona.
"Obviously he must have because he's a player who has ambition and any player would want to come to Barca," he said. "He went through a difficult and very complicated moment but as a professional he continued to show how good a player he is and the personal quality he has.
"Despite trying to leave Liverpool he continued helping the team and working. He is demonstrating as a professional who has the ambition to take a step further."
Coutinho, supposedly valued at approximately €150m (£132.6m), has scored 46 goals and registered 40 assists in 190 appearances since joining Liverpool from Inter Milan in a bargain £8.5m deal, establishing himself as one of the Premier League's most feared - if occasionally inconsistent - midfielders courtesy of his tremendous technical ability and deadly long-range shooting.
The 25-year-old also did not allow that distracting summer episode to have a detrimental long-term impact on his form and notched five times in nine outings before missing each of the club's successive three-goal wins over Huddersfield Town, Maribor and West Ham United due to an adductor injury.
Suarez is only too aware of the extra quality that Coutinho would add to a talented Barcelona team that, despite losing Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain and replacement Ousmane Dembele to injury, have won 14 of their 16 matches across all competitions since being beaten over two legs by Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup in August.
Ernesto Valverde's side already boast a four-point advantage over closest challengers Valencia at the summit of La Liga.
"A lot," Suarez replied when asked what Coutinho could bring. "I know him as a person and as a player because I played with him, but everyone knows what Coutinho can contribute. He is a footballer, who today, plays at a very high level."
