Philippe Coutinho has claimed Bayern Munich is “more familiar” than Liverpool .
Coutinho completed a summer switch from Barcelona to the German club on a loan deal with an option to buy and has quickly settled in with Niko Kovac’s side.
He was linked with a return to Liverpool, although some reports in the past suggested he was not keen due to struggling to fully settle on Merseyside before his big-money move to Spain.
And Coutinho has now aimed a subtle dig at his former clubs, by claiming the environment in Bavaria has more of a family feel than anywhere he has played before.
Jurgen Klopp is known to be extremely close to and supportive of his team-mates, keeping contact with Coutinho after his departure, so his feelings towards Bayern after just a few weeks come as something of a surprise.
Asked by Sky Sports in Germany if Bayern is “more familial” than his former clubs, he responded: “Definitely. That’s exactly what I thought.
“Everything here is very familiar. I know that from Liverpool a bit, but here it is even more familiar.
“It’s been very nice. In the first days I was shown all facilities first. I met the teammates and of course the coaching team. Every day I feel a little better, I am very happy.”
He went on to praise the welcome he has received from fans of the Bundesliga champions.
He stated: “The fans were incredibly nice to me, it’s great to feel the positive energy of them very close.
“Many children are always there, I see the radiance in their eyes and that makes me happy.
“I wrote a lot of autographs that day, I hope I did not forget anyone. To have this contact regularly is nice.”
The role of fellow Portuguese speaker Thiago Alcantara has also been important to Coutinho early on.
“He helped a lot in the first few days, especially in terms of communication,” Coutinho said. “German is damn difficult! But I’ve decided to learn a bit. Also a few employees speak Portuguese, that’s what made it easy.”