Philippe Coutinho reveals Luis Suarez's role in convincing him to swap Liverpool for Barcelona

Philippe Coutinho has revealed that Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez convinced him to leave Liverpool for Barcelona.

The Brazil international played alongside the former Ajax man when the duo were at Anfield. In fact, in Suarez's last season at the Merseyside club, the Reds came close to winning the title when Brendan Rodgers was in charge at the club.

Suarez joined the Catalan club in the summer of 2014 and Coutinho has also now followed his former teammate to Barcelona, swapping the Premier League outfit for the La Liga giants in the January transfer window.

After Barcelona signed Coutinho for a club record transfer fee of £142m ($192.3m), the 25-year-old Brazilian stressed that regular communication with Suarez, where he gave him details about the club and the city, was a major influence in his decision to join Ernesto Valverde's side.

"We almost won the Premier League together at Liverpool [in 2014], it was a great time. We are good friends and he wrote me a lot of messages telling me about the city and the club. It just made me want to come here even more," Coutinho was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.

Coutinho also revealed that Suarez has helped him find a new house in Barcelona.

"He (Suarez) saw that a house next to his became available. He didn't know I was coming for certain, but he liked the idea. It is a kind gesture. We've seen the pictures, it looks amazing. We are in touch all the time and I know Luis will help us to feel at home," the ex-Liverpool star told the Daily Mail.

PSG and Real Madrid were also reported to be interested in securing Coutinho's services prior to his move to Barcelona. However, the midfielder said that his heart was already set on the Spanish league leaders.

"I was always clear from the beginning that I wanted to come here and I want to thank everyone who understood what my desire was," he said.

"It was always my dream to come to Barca. It was a unique opportunity and the contract is for five years.

"I want to thank everybody, I am living a dream. I want to thank the directors for their patience. I also want to thank Liverpool and their fans for understanding it was a dream to come to FC Barcelona."