Luis Suarez received a special welcome into Atletico Madrid‘s squad on Friday as the whole squad gave him a guard of honor which didn’t end like the regular guard of honors.
The entire squad of Atletico Madrid lined up in two lines leaving a passageway in between the two queues while facing themselves. Luis Suarez who has been playing for their bitter rival FC Barcelona in the last 6 years and just switched to their side this summer, was made to walk in between them with a bent posture in order to make his back available for his new teammates to beat.
The 33-year-old striker quickly walked through them as everyone tried to get a chance to beat him on his back. The striker successfully went through and was seen touching his back in a video posted on Atletico Madrid’s official twitter handle.
In the caption, the club’s Twitter handler described the demonstration as a “warm welcome” which is exactly what the Uruguayan football icon needed after an embarrassing exit from FC Barcelona.
🔴⚪ #SuárezRojiblanco
— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) September 25, 2020
A warm welcome for @LuisSuarez9 👏😂
🏧 #AúpaAtleti pic.twitter.com/hwYGzwwGgN
Luiz Suarez’s exit and Lionel Messi’s support
Talking about Luis Suarez’s embarrassing exit from FC Barcelona, the club told him bluntly that his services were no longer needed despite still having almost a year on his contract with the Spanish giants.
This forced him to start looking for a new club. He ended up joining Atletico Madrid for a two-year deal after his proposed deal with Juventus failed due to issues related to his Italian passport.
Barcelona hurried him out of the club after he agreed on a deal with Atletico Madrid without much regard to the former Uruguay international’s contribution to the club. Suarez scored 195 goals and provided 113 assists for the club in 283 appearances. He was not also given due regard that he was instrumental in helping the club to win 13 major titles including one UEFA Champions League and four Spanish La Liga titles in 6 years.
Hence, the club’s talisman and his best friend at FC Barcelona, Lionel Messi could not hide his displeasure with how Suarez was treated and forced out of the club. The Argentina international described Suarez’s exit as being “kicked out” of the club.
In his reaction to Lionel Messi’s criticism of the way Barcelona treated him, Suarez said he was proud that he was able to leave a positive legacy at the club.
“Leo knows me well and is well aware of my level of conviction”, Suarez said. “It’s a source of pride to be able to leave a positive legacy behind me.
“I’ve now moved on and joining this competitive side is a major motivation.”
After playing side by side with Lionel Messi for 6 fruitful years, Luis Suarez will now compete against him throughout the 2020-2021 season which most people believe will make the Spanish La Liga more interesting. Hence, the fight for the La Liga title will no longer be between Barcelona and Real Madrid, Suarez could make Atletico Madrid a stronger contender.
