Former Inter Milan chief Marco Branca insists they never wanted to sell Philippe Coutinho.

Coutinho is now starring with Barcelona, but struggled to make an impact with the Nerazzurri.

Branca recalled: "Coutinho happened in the worst moment in history at Inter.

"He played enough with (Rafa) Benitez and almost never with Leonardo. Espanyol had budget needs and we were forced to sell him, but none of us wanted to do it."

After a loan spell at Espanyol, Inter chose to sell Coutinho to Liverpool in 2013 for €13m.