Suarez camp apoplectic as Barca aim to halt Atletico move

5:05pm on Tuesday 22nd September 2020
By Martin Macdonald

Luis Suarez and his representatives have been left furious after Barcelona put the brakes on his proposed move to Atletico Madrid.

Ronald Koeman has made it clear that the Uruguayan is not in his plans going forward, with the club even reportedly willing to let him sit in the stands rather than play due to the Dutchman's insistance that he be kept away from the squad.

While Suarez will be allowed to leave for a nominal fee similar to Ivan Rakitic and Arturo Vidal, the lack of a significant transfer fee will only be allowed if he doesn't join Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, or Manchester United, according to ESPN.

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Juventus and Atletico are not on that list requested by Barcelona, and Suarez seemed poised a week ago to be joining the Bianconeri, only for that move to fall through, with them subsequently signing Alvaro Morata instead.

That opened the door for Atletico to lead the race for his signature, but now that it appears him signing for Los Colchoneros could be a real possibility, Barcelona have backtracked and will demand a fee due to Atletico's status as potential title rivals.

In 2013, David Villa was allowed to leave Barcelona for Atletico Madrid and Diego Simeone's charges ultimately won the 2013/14 La Liga at the expense of Barca, meaning the Blaugrana are keen to avoid a similar outcome.

Suarez and his lawyers are preparing for talks with Barcelona after they initially agreed to the termination of his contract, allowing him to leave for free to speak to other clubs.

The Uruguayan is currently being investigated by Italian authorities for allegedly cheating in his Italian citizenship exam, which he needed to pass in order to sign for Juventus.

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