Getty Luis Suarez with Neymar and Messi at Barcelona.
Luis Suarez has spoken out about his painful exit from Barcelona and how he came home from the club in tears after being told to train away from the first-team.
The Uruguay international left Barcelona in the summer of 2020 after being deemed surplus to requirements by coach Ronald Koeman. Suarez told Star+ that he was hurt by the way he was treated by the club before his departure, as reported by ESPN.
“It hurt and we suffered a lot, we came from the elimination in the UEFA Champions League against Bayern Munich and Leo’s burofax, everything was very complicated and painful, firstly because of the way things went, and also because of the way we were treated,” he said “I went, I showed up to train and they sent me to train separately, I suffered a lot and I came home and cried because of how they had treated me. In the years I was at Barcelona I never dropped below 25 goals per season.”
Suarez subsequently joined La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid and went on to win the league title with Diego Simeone’s side, scoring 21 goals to help the Rojiblancos be crowned champions of Spain.
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Suarez Talks Messi
The former Barcelona striker also spoke about close friend Lionel Messi. The two players enjoyed a superb relationship on and off the pitch, and Suarez revealed what he told Messi when he first arrived at the club from Liverpool.
“Leo is a friend and a special friend because of what he means to my career. And I think we help each other,” he added. “When I arrived at Barcelona I told him that I was coming to win, not to take the place of anyone. He realized that what I was telling him was sincere, and the relationship grew.”
Messi ended up following Suarez out of Barcelona a year later in another painful exit for the Catalan giants. The Uruguayan says he has never seen his friend as upset as when he waved farewell to the club.
“Leo suffered a lot, I never seen Messi cry like I saw him cry at Barcelona, it hurt him,” he explained. “I always had that uncertainty as to why it all happened, but then luckily I was happy at Atlético de Madrid”.
Suarez On MSN
Suarez and Messi were of course part of a formidable attacking trident at Barcelona that also included Neymar. The ‘MSN’ trio dominated in La Liga and in Europe and Surarez spoke about what it was like to play with the two attackers.
“What makes you happy about that stage was the happiness that the three of us had for a goal made by one of the other two, and the humility that there was when it came to sharing things,” he said. “They made me win a Golden Boot, Leo let me take penalties so that I won the prize for example. I value that very much. There was no ego from any of us, the three of us were content and happy, and the rest of the team ran for us because they realized that.”
Messi and Neymar have since reunited at Paris Saint-Germain, while speculation remains that the Argentine could play with Suarez in Major League Soccer before the two players finally hang up their boots.
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