‘Great guy’ Coutinho sent ex-boss Rodgers text on day he left Reds

PHILIPPE Coutinho sent Brendan Rodgers a text on the day of his £145m move from Liverpool to Barcelona, the current Celtic manager has revealed.

The Brazilian play-maker first arrived at Anfield in January 2013 during Rodgers’ tenure as Liverpool boss.

The two went on to develop a strong working relationship before Rodgers was sacked in October 2015.

“He sent me a nice text the other day when he was arriving in Barcelona,” Rodgers said. “He is a great guy, he was never a moment’s problem for me. He was a magical player to work with.”

Rodgers added that Coutinho’s transfer made sense given his quality as a player: “It’s brilliant for both as he is a Barcelona player if ever there was one.

“People questioned whether he was big and tall enough. I’d seen him as a young player at 18 at Inter Milan around top players and I always felt he had the technical quality. And he was always going to get better physically.

“We kept in contact ever since we left.”