Lionel Messi is largely to blame for Philippe Coutinho's failure to succeed at Barcelona, according to club legend Rivaldo.
The Brazilian midfielder joined the Catalan giants in a £142million deal from Liverpool in January 2018.
But the 27-year-old largely struggled to live up to expectations at Camp Nou despite scoring 16 goals in 52 LaLiga appearances, and was farmed out on loan to Bayern Munich for the 2019/20 season.
Coutinho has been left in limbo after the Bundesliga giants opted against signing the playmaker on a permanent basis, while a return to the Premier League with Chelsea appears to have stalled.
Rivaldo has accused Messi, regarded as a central figure at Barcelona, of taking "all the credit" for the club's success, making it difficult for Coutinho to truly impose himself on the pitch like he did at Anfield.
"I always believed that Philippe Coutinho had the ability to succeed at Barcelona, but things were taking too much time and both parties agreed on a transfer to Bayern Munich," he told Betfair.
"I'm a little disappointed about his failure in gaining a regular place in the first team, but perhaps he was no longer confident about it and unhappy, so he opted for a move to another big club trying to finally recover his best football from his time at Liverpool.
"It's never easy to find your space in a team where Lionel Messi constantly takes all the credit and responsibility.
"There are few players in the world capable of reaching such a situation and imposing themselves, and maybe Coutinho didn't have enough patience to find his spot in the team.
"The Argentinian star is the team leader and will keep playing at his best level for about three or four more years, so it is difficult to see other players shining at their best at Barcelona."
