Brazil Big Five highlight Barca penchant

COUTINHO BECOMES THE LATEST IN A LONG LINE OF SAMBA STARS WHO HAVE SHONE AT THE NOU CAMP

t’s no surprise Philippe Coutinho has been so desperate to ditch Liverpool for FC Barcelona since first being denied the move last summer.

Not only has he got great memories of Catalonia after scoring five in 16 appearances for Barca’s city-rivals Espanyol while on loan there from Inter Milan in 2012 but he also joins a long line of Brazilians to have made their name in the Spanish seaside town, where the food, culture and long-stretching sandy beaches bear a resemblance to the striker’s hometown of Rio de Janeiro on a sunny day — at least more so than murky Merseyside.

Coutinho would in fact be the 30th Brazilian to have played for Barca. And there have been more Brazilians to have played for the club than any other non-Spanish nationality proving the side’s soft spot for South American flair, while forging the impression on all young Brazilians — particularly strikers — that Barcelona is the team to play for in Europe.

Although he only made three appearances, Lucio da Silva became the first Brazilian to play for Barca in 1948 and, more recently, Dani Alves, who played 247 games for the club between 2008 and 2016, holds the record for the Brazilian with the most appearances. With six La Liga and three Uefa Champions League titles in his total list of 23 trophies, right back Alves is also the Brazilian to have made the biggest impact, but he isn’t the name that springs to mind first when we think of Samba boys in Spain.

Here we take a look at the five most famous Brazilians to have graced the Nou Camp with their impact on the pitch.

Rex Features Became part of Johan Cruyff’s dream team alongside the likes of Hristo Stoichkov, Michael Laudrup and Ronald Koeman in 1993, joining for from PSV Eindhoven. Was top scorer in his first season with 30 goals in 32 appearances and lifted La Liga, his only...

Joined Barcelona from PSV Eindhoven in 1996 for a then world record fee of but only lasted a season under Bobby Robson scoring 34 goals in 37 appearances after failing to renegotiate his deal and buying out the remainder of his contract before joining...

from Santos in 2013 and quickly established himself as a key part of the MSN strike partnership along with Messi and Suarez, scoring 68 goals in 123 appearances. Won eight trophies at the club including two La Liga and one Champions League title under...