Barcelona new boy Phillipe Coutinho spoke to the club’s official television channel about his time with Inter and how it enabled him to lay the foundations to get him to where he is today.
“I began to realise what it meant to be a professional athlete when I signed my first contract with Inter even though I was only 16 and very young.
“I realised how serious being a footballer was. For a young lad it was so difficult to adjust not just on the pitch but life as a whole. You come from a particular culture [and have to adapt to a new one] and have to just leave everything you have in your home in Brazil. I was there for two years, I came with my parents and my girlfriend who is now my wife. The Inter team had so many Champions [at the time I was there].”
He concluded, “The experience was a very positive one, but very difficult. If I had went to Milan alone, I wouldn’t of made it. I needed my family and they were always there for me.”
