According to Spanish publication Marca, Luis Suarez has told Uruguay’s AUF TV that he spent ‘days crying’ after it was made clear that Barcelona were forcing him out this summer.
Suarez admits that he didn’t take the exit ‘well’, largely due to the manner in which the Catalan outfit ‘went about things’.
Barcelona’s embarrassing 8-2 exit at the hands of Bayern Munich in the Champions League combined with the club finding themselves in a difficult financial situation led to a massive shake-up this summer.
Suarez was the highest-profile casualty after legend Ronald Koeman was appointed as boss, following the footsteps of fellow experienced stars Arturo Vidal and Ivan Rakitic.
The 33-year-old joined domestic rivals Atletico Madrid in a deal that could be worth up to €6m in variables, as per Barcelona’s official statement.
Here’s what Suarez had to say on the feeling of leaving after six years:
“It’s difficult because it was a mixture of emotions, I don’t know if it was sadness for moving city, for my family, for my children… Like I say to them, they have to realise that we’re privileged because we got to spend six years in the same place and that’s not easy to do at a club like Barcelona.”
“The possibility of going to Atletico Madrid came up. I had to change city, but life in Spain in similar.”
“Obviously, when the club told me that they were looking to find me a fresh start, I didn’t take it very well because of how they went about things. You have to accept it when a cycle comes to an end.”
“I spent days crying because of the situation that I was going through [after] how much I’d enjoyed it, how much I was valued as a player, how much I was loved, how I felt the warmth of the club that gave me a thousand amazing moments. From my debut… I have great memories.”
Suarez also gave his thoughts on Messi taking aim at the club over the situation on social media, whilst also letting the media in on some more details surrounding his treatment:
“It didn’t surprise me because I know him all too well, I knew the hurt he was feeling, like he said and like I told him. The ways, the feeling that you’re being forced out and that was what hurt the most.”
“We’re great.”
“I’d spent six years at Barcelona and there were other ways of telling me. But they didn’t go about it in the right way and that’s what annoyed [Messi] too.”
“I don’t see him as Leo Messi, as everyone else sees him. I see him as a friend, a team-mate and he knows what we’ve gone through, the bad stuff that we went through at that time.”
Suarez was the Blaugrana’s third-highest scorer ever with 198 goals, whilst also adding a phenomenal 109 assists, however this ultimately counted for nothing as the club forced him out disrespectfully.
Neutral fans can take some solace from the situation, hopefully Suarez joining Diego Simeone’s side will make the the battle for the La Liga title just that little bit more interesting.