Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho would be ‘welcome with open arms’ at Barcelona, says Gerard Pique

PHILIPPE COUTINHO would be ‘welcome with open arms’ at Barcelona, claims defensive star Gerard Pique.

The Barca and Spain centre-back says the club would be happy to have any player with the quality of the Brazilian.

When asked about a possible move for Coutinho, he said on Facebook Live: “This is the work of Robert Fernandez, the technical secretary.

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“But obviously we will welcome all great players with open arms if they come.

“But the team’s needs are handled by other people.”

After a spell out injured, Coutinho made his return to action in Liverpool’s 1-0 FA Cup third round replay win at Plymouth.

But Brazil and Barcelona legend Rivaldo believes his future lies at the Nou Camp.

He told Sky Sports: “In my opinion, he’s a great player and a player who knows Neymar well. I think they are both friends – players who stand out.

“I think that this transfer might happen because Barcelona is always going to attract the best, isn’t it?

“He is one of the players who stands out and I believe that this transfer – if he goes to Barcelona – would be a good thing for Barcelona for sure.

“He is a player who would definitely help Barcelona. Of course, Barcelona is a big club, but with a player like him, it would definitely be a big help.”

The Catalans have been linked with a £60m move but Jurgen Klopp says all bids will be rejected by the Reds.

The Anfield boss stated: “We never had any plans or any talks about this because he is our player. Nothing has changed.

“Big clubs don’t think in this way unfortunately, and it was not a big injury so there was no question of him not being the same player afterwards.

“It would be nice if big clubs forgot about a player completely because he’s been injured for five or six weeks.

“I’m not sure it’s like this though, but he is our player and that’s it.”