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Luis Suarez remains a Barcelona player but seems no closer to knowing where he will be playing his football next season.
The Uruguay international had appeared to be closing in on a move to Serie A champions Juventus but that deal now looks in serious doubt.
According to RAC1, Suarez has ruled out joining the Turin giants because he will be unable to gain Italian citizenship by October 6, meaning he would be unable to play in the group stages of the Champions League.
Suarez does still have other “options on the table” for next season and is currently considering his next move. According to Gerard Romero, he could even play for Barcelona in Wednesday’s friendly against Girona.
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Has Koeman Changed His Mind?
New Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman informed Suarez he wasn’t in his plans after arriving at the club in August to replace Quique Setien. Yet it seems the Dutch coach may have had a change of heart.
According to Ovacion, the Dutch coach has now told Suarez that he is willing to count on the 33-year-old if he does stay at the club. The striker has a year left to run on his existing contract which will renew for one more year if he plays 60 percent of games in 2020-21.
Suarez has already said in an interview with El Pais he wants to stay and thinks he “can still contribute a lot to this club.” The striker also said he would be willing to accept a reduced role next season and sit on the bench.
Barcelona’s Depay Move Played Down
Barcelona had been rumored to be bringing in Lyon captain Memphis Depay to replace Luis Suarez, but Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has played down the rumors with a post on Twitter.
“The president of Barça told me on Sunday that Barça was suffering a lot from the Covid crisis and had no possibility of making an offer.”
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has offered his take on the current situation:
It seems certain that Barcelona will only move for Memphis if Suarez does leave, but the Catalans are struggling to offload players in a difficult transfer window and have so far only managed to sell Ivan Rakitic.
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