It seems inevitable that Philippe Coutinho will one day realise his dream and play for Barcelona, but when that will happen is anyone's guess at the moment.

According to reports in Spain, the Blaugrana are due to meet Coutinho's agents on January 3 to open negotiations and thrash out a £130 million move.

Barcelona clearly don't want a repeat of the 2017 summer transfer window, where they spent the best part of two months trying and failing to convince Liverpool to sell up.

But Jurgen Klopp won't want to lose Coutinho half way through the current season given they are in the hunt for the top four and still competing in the Champions League.

Liverpool have attacking talent in abundance, such as Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino, but Coutinho remains their star player.

It's no secret that the 25-year-old wants to join Barcelona and he's now received a rather strong word of warning from his compatriot, Brazilian Ronaldo.

Ronaldo, 41, spent a solitary season at Barcelona in 1996/97 and enjoyed his best goalscoring season as a professional footballer there.

He also won three trophies in that time, but in a brutally honest interview with Esporte Interativo recently, the former striker claimed Barcelona have always had issues with Brazilian players.

According to Ronaldo, he was mistreated at the Camp Nou, as were Neymar and Ronaldinho during their respective stints in Catalonia.

"I felt much more happy and more connected to Real Madrid, despite having lived a great year in Barcelona," said Ronaldo.

"In the end, my history with Barca was very bad, similar to the one Neymar had. Barcelona has always had issues with Brazilian players: Neymar, Romario, Ronaldinho and me.

"We were all treated badly by the club in the end, despite all our contributions and dedication."

It's a strong claim from Ronaldo, but also something for Coutinho to bear in mind before he leaves Liverpool for Barcelona.

But according to another Brazilian currently at Barcelona, Paulinho, joining the Blaugrana isn't something Coutinho would be made to regret.

"I try to give him the basic information, the most important for him and his family," said Paulinho of Coutinho.

"Maybe the time he lived here was not enough to know the city, but he knows that Barcelona is a very good city, that offers everything for him and his family.

"You have to think about the decision you are going to make. What I think is that if you have the opportunity to come, you will not regret it."