Former Inter Milan chief Marco Branca has defended their sale of Philippe Coutinho.

The Liverpool midfielder is now the subject of intense transfer interest from Barcelona. The Brazilian arrived for around €4m and was sold to Liverpool for €12.5m. He could leave for Barca for as much as €160m in the coming days.

“Nobody at Inter doubted his quality, even if when you arrive in Italy at 18 it's normal you can experience some difficulty," Branca explained to La Stampa.

“Real Madrid wanted him too, but we had a word with his family and in 2010 he joined the Nerazzurri for less than €4m.

“Is he worth €150m? There's no way to measure the transfer market these days, but that doesn't just apply to Coutinho, it applies to everyone. Crazy figures.

“I can say that he's someone who can occupy all roles in the attack.

“Philippe was unique then and today, he can use his left or right foot and it makes no difference. When he dribbles, he can do it from anywhere.

“What we did with Liverpool wasn't a technical operation, there was a budgetary issue and the club was starting to have problems. That's why Coutinho left."