Philippe Coutinho texted Brendan Rodgers following move to Barcelona

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has revealed that he received a text message from Philippe Coutinho after the Brazilian joined Barcelona from Liverpool.

Rodgers was responsible for bringing the midfielder to Anfield in January 2013 when the Irishman was in charge of the Merseyside outfit.

The former Swansea City boss helped Coutinho develop at Liverpool and they continued a friendly relationship after the coach was sacked in 2015.

"He sent me a nice text the other day when he was arriving in Barcelona," Rodgers told the Daily Record. "He is a great young guy, he was never a moment's problem for me. He was a magical player to work with."

"It's brilliant for both as he is a Barcelona player if ever there was one. At the time when I brought him, he wasn't in the team at Inter Milan. People questioned whether he was big enough 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, of course, he was always going to get better physically. We kept in contact ever since we left."

Coutinho is believed to have been sold to Barcelona for around £142m.