Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho has revealed that he spoke to fellow Brazilian Lucas Leiva a lot before deciding to join the club in January.
Coutinho, who has made a strong start to life at Anfield, grabbing two goals and two assists in his first five appearances for the club, explained that talks with Lucas and manager Brendan Rodgers convinced him to make the move.
The 20-year-old also recalled memories of watching Liverpool's historic Champions League win in 2005, during which they came back from 3-0 down at half time to beat AC Milan on penalties.
"Growing up in Brazil I knew all about Liverpool. It's such a big club all over the world," Coutinho told the Liverpool Echo.
"I was very young but I remember watching the Champions League final in 2005 when Liverpool came back from 3-0 down to win the trophy. That was unbelievable.
"The manager sent me some text messages before I came over from Italy and I spoke a lot with Lucas. He phoned me and told me all about the club. That gave me the incentive to come over and I know I made the right decision. The manager has shown a lot of faith in me and hopefully I will repay that. I want to win some titles here to compensate the club for what they've done for me."
Liverpool currently sit seventh in the Premier League table, three points behind sixth-placed Everton having played a game more than their Merseyside rivals.
Barney Corkhill
