MADRID, Sept 24: Luis Suarez is staying in Spain after all. Barcelona said late on Wednesday that it reached a deal with Atletico Madrid for the transfer of the Uruguay striker for 6 million euros ($7 million). Suarez was let go by Barcelona following six mostly successful seasons in which he won 13 titles with the Catalan club. He leaves as Barcelona�s third highest scorer ever with 198 goals, behind Cesar Rodriguez (232) and Lionel Messi (634).
The 33-year-old Suarez had to find a new club after being told by incoming Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman that he was not in his plans. Koeman was asked to revamp the Barcelona squad after the embarrassing 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals of the Champions League in August. Midfielder Ivan Rakitic already left for Sevilla after also being told he wasn�t wanted any more, and defender Samuel Umtiti is also expected to leave.
Messi, Suarez�s longtime friend and team-mate, wanted to leave but will stay after the club denied his request for a free transfer at the end of last season.
Barcelona said it wanted to publicly express its �gratitude to Luis Suarez for his commitment and dedication,� and wished him �all the best for the future.�
The club said Suarez will give a news conference on Thursday. He reportedly bid farewell to his team-mates earlier on Wednesday.
Spanish media said Barcelona had initially made an agreement with Suarez to allow him to leave for free, but later backtracked after it became known that he wanted to go to rival Atletico. Suarez�s lawyers had been negotiating with the Catalan club since Tuesday to try to make his move to Atletico possible.
Suarez, who arrived in Barcelona from Liverpool in 2014, will be joining Atletico�s Argentine coach Diego Simeone, who has always praised Suarez and is also known to carry the same hard-working, never-give-up attitude as the Uruguayan striker. � AP
MADRID, Sept 24: Luis Suarez is staying in Spain after all. Barcelona said late on Wednesday that it reached a deal with Atletico Madrid for the transfer of the Uruguay striker for 6 million euros ($7 million). Suarez was let go by Barcelona following six mostly successful seasons in which he won 13 titles with the Catalan club. He leaves as Barcelona�s third highest scorer ever with 198 goals, behind Cesar Rodriguez (232) and Lionel Messi (634).
The 33-year-old Suarez had to find a new club after being told by incoming Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman that he was not in his plans. Koeman was asked to revamp the Barcelona squad after the embarrassing 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals of the Champions League in August. Midfielder Ivan Rakitic already left for Sevilla after also being told he wasn�t wanted any more, and defender Samuel Umtiti is also expected to leave.
Messi, Suarez�s longtime friend and team-mate, wanted to leave but will stay after the club denied his request for a free transfer at the end of last season.
Barcelona said it wanted to publicly express its �gratitude to Luis Suarez for his commitment and dedication,� and wished him �all the best for the future.�
The club said Suarez will give a news conference on Thursday. He reportedly bid farewell to his team-mates earlier on Wednesday.
Spanish media said Barcelona had initially made an agreement with Suarez to allow him to leave for free, but later backtracked after it became known that he wanted to go to rival Atletico. Suarez�s lawyers had been negotiating with the Catalan club since Tuesday to try to make his move to Atletico possible.
Suarez, who arrived in Barcelona from Liverpool in 2014, will be joining Atletico�s Argentine coach Diego Simeone, who has always praised Suarez and is also known to carry the same hard-working, never-give-up attitude as the Uruguayan striker. � AP
