We live in a time where every single comment can be scrutinised and twisted beyond belief, so it’s hard to figure out if there’s anything in these comments from Barcelona’s new manager Ronald Koeman.
It’s clear that the Barca squad needs a lot of work and that will probably begin with clearing out some of the veterans, so Luis Suarez is a prime candidate to leave.
He’s still a phenomenal player but he keeps getting injured and his age will go against him, so it would make sense if Barca decided to move on from him and play Griezmann in his natural position through the centre instead.
READ MORE: Opinion: Which players over 30 should Barcelona look to get rid of this summer?
Koeman was speaking on Dutch radio earlier on today, and a report from AD has indicated that the subject of Suarez came up.
He’s being linked with a return to Ajax so that question came up, and it appears Koeman said joked that he would be allowed to leave if they wanted him to.
In isolation that probably doesn’t make a great deal, but it does get more interesting when reports have suggested that Koeman wants Suarez to go but the player isn’t keen to leave.
That does make you wonder if Koeman is actually making a real point here but he’s disguised it as a joke to soften the blow a bit, and it’s absolutely worth following the story with Suarez this summer to see what happens.