Sergio Busquets blocked Liverpool flop from joining Barcelona in January after 'vetoing' the transfer

Sergio Busquets and his teammates blocked one former Liverpool player from joining Barcelona, it has been claimed.

The Blaugrana are well renowned for splashing the cash on high profile players, but Busquets intervened when manager Xavi wanted to sign a new midfielder.

The Spaniard was eager to strengthen his squad by signing a player who knew Barcelona well and hadn't been playing regularly for his club.

The Brazilian Arthur Melo, who was with Liverpool at the time, seemed to fit the bill perfectly.

However, Busquets, who was captain of Barca at the time, vetoed the transfer, informing Xavi that he had had "led a messy life" when he played for the La Liga side previously.

That's according to journalist Javier Miguel, who said on Catalunya Ràdio's 'Barça Reservat' podcast (via Sport) that he could be a bad example for the young players.

Weeks later, Arthur picked up an injury, but Xavi had already made up his mind.

The 27-year-old, who currently plays his football for Italian side Fiorentina, endured a tricky spell at Anfield, with Jurgen Klopp reportedly "unimpressed" by the midfielder.

However, Arthur admitted he had no hard feelings against the Reds boss.

Speaking to GOAL last season, he said: "Next season I see it with good eyes. It will be decisive in my career and I am working very well. I'm looking forward to showing this new version of Arthur.

"Hopefully I have an option to say goodbye in Liverpool by playing something, to say goodbye to my team-mates, the technical committee and the fans, who have been very good to me.

"Since I arrived, [Jurgen] Klopp has treated me really well. It is an honour for me to work with Jurgen. He is one of the best coaches in the world, he has always spoken well of me, he is someone incredible and the treatment has always been really good, elegant and special.

"The fact of being able to train with someone like him always gives you a lot as a player and I'm sure it's useful for what's to come because you learn a lot from him."

The Brazilian added: "Now that I'm recovered, I would obviously like to be able to play more, but I can understand that the situation now is different from what happened when I arrived, because at that time the team had some needs and now it has others.

"But I have the peace of mind that when I talk to them and they tell me that no one has any complaints with me, quite the opposite. Also all of Liverpool in general, they have treated me great and I only have good words for them and a very special affection."