Barcelona forward Luis Suarez can join Atletico Madrid this summer after series of back and forth between him and the Spanish giants.
Recall that at the end of the 2019-2020 season, Barcelona urged him to leave the club. The Spanish club was even prepared to let him go for free despite still having less than a season left on his contract.
The Uruguay international was the first player at the club that Ronald Koeman told he was not part of his plans immediately he was named the club’s manager after the departure of Quique Setien.
After he was told that he was no longer needed at a club he has spent 6 years of career at, Suarez began to look for a new club. Initially, he was on the verge of joining Juventus but the deal didn’t work out because of difficulties in obtaining an Italian passport.
Then, Atletico Madrid came into the picture and tried to lure the 33-year-old Uruguayan forward to their side. However, the president of Barcelona, Josep Maria Bartomeu stopped the move citing that he would not allow Suarez to join any rival club in Spain.
After a couple of meetings between Barcelona’s president and the representatives of Suarez, the Spanish club permitted him to start the process that will see him join Atletico Madrid.
Unlike the initial proposition where Suarez was permitted to leave Barcelona for free, Atletico Madrid would have to pay the sum of 4 million euros to Barcelona if they qualified for UEFA Champions League this season.
Besides that, the Uruguay international would have to make personal sacrifices to ensure that the deal scales through. Such a sacrifice Suarez has to make is that he would not earn more than half of the 30 million euros he earns per year when he joins Atletico Madrid.
From all indications, Suarez would not mind accepting a pay cut if that would guarantee him regular playing time at a top club like Atletico Madrid. Hence, the deal is expected to be completed in a matter of days.
Before things went sour between him and Barcelona, Suarez has scored a total of 198 goals and has provided a total of 109 assists in 283 appearances for Barcelona. More so, he has helped Barcelona to win four La Liga titles, four Copa del Reys, one UEFA Champions League, and one FIFA Club World Cup.
