Roberto Firmino: 'Philippe Coutinho leaving Liverpool would be awful'

Liverpool star Roberto Firmino has reportedly admitted that it would be "awful" to see Philippe Coutinho leave the club.

The playmaker is believed to have submitted a transfer request via email after learning of Barcelona's interest.

The Catalan giants, who recently sold Neymar for a fee thought to be around £200m, have reportedly had a £72m bid for Coutinho and an offer in the region of £80m rejected by the Reds.

The 25-year-old missed Saturday's Premier League opening 3-3 draw with Watford due to a back injury, and he has not travelled with the squad for tonight's Champions League first leg qualifier against Hoffenheim.

Twitter account @BrazilStat has quoted Firmino as saying: "I prefer to not think of [Coutinho leaving] because it'd be awful. He's a great player but also a great friend to me."

The former Inter Milan star, who joined Liverpool in 2013, was best man at Firmino's wedding earlier in the summer.