Ex-Liverpool striker made his feelings known when club ‘backtracked on transfer agreement’

Luis Suarez was told he could leave Barcelona for free, only for the Catalan giants to backtrack and demand a fee when they learned where the ex-Liverpool star was headed

The upcoming Champions League clash between Liverpool and Atletico Madrid will see two of Luis Suarez’s former teams go head-to-head. The Uruguayan striker’s time in Madrid didn’t start smoothly, though, all thanks to Barcelona.

Suarez made a £75million switch from Liverpool to Barca in 2014, clinching the Champions League trophy in his debut season at Camp Nou. He reached new heights the following season, netting an impressive 59 goals in just 53 games, but was later sacrificed as a cost-cutting measure.

In 2020, Barcelona’s financial troubles forced them to offload their high earners. Arda Turan and Arturo Vidal were both let go for free, while Ivan Rakitic returned to his old club Sevilla in a bargain deal, and Suarez was also set to leave for nothing only for the situation to change when Atletico Madrid showed interest.

After new manager Ronald Koeman gave Suarez the green light to leave, player and club struck a deal. The Catalan giants would pay off the player, who in turn would give up some of his final year’s salary in exchange for Barca waiving a transfer fee.

However, as ESPN reported at the time, there were stipulations. Suarez was barred from joining arch-rivals Real Madrid, as well as Manchester City, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain – but interestingly, Atletico Madrid wasn’t initially on the list of prohibited moves.

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The situation quickly evolved, though causing problems for Suarez. Barcelona were reportedly hesitant to repeat their 2013 blunder when they allowed David Villa to join Atleti and score 13 league goals, helping them clinch the title.

Despite wanting to offload Suarez, they didn’t want history to repeat itself. The striker was reportedly livid with this development, unable to comprehend Barca’s position: he had been given permission to leave and had chosen a club not on the club’s prohibited list, yet he was still being obstructed.

Eventually, a compromise was struck between the clubs, with Atleti avoiding an upfront fee but agreeing to pay performance-related bonuses. Reports at the time suggested the total amount payable was somewhere between £3.5m and £5.2m, which would have quickly seemed like a steal for the purchasing club once they saw their new man start banging in the goals.

Suarez netted 16 La Liga goals in his final season with Barcelona, and his 21 for Atleti represented not only a significant increase but also the highest tally any player had achieved for Diego Simeone’s side since Antoine Griezmann in 2015/16. Three of those goals, in particular, stood out.

One of those three came in March, when Real Madrid visited the Wanda Metropolitano aiming to derail their neighbours’ title bid. Karim Benzema nullified Suarez’s goal with a late equaliser, but Atleti remained in pole position.

The final weeks of the season saw a thrilling title race between the big three, with Barcelona falling behind due to securing only eight points from their last six matches. Atletico Madrid nearly sabotaged their own chances, but a late goal from Suarez against Osasuna ensured they held a narrow advantage over the other Madrid club heading into the final day.

Real Madrid, true to form, flirted with disaster before late goals from Benzema and Luka Modric secured a victory over Villarreal. However, it was all in vain as Suarez – who else – netted Atletico’s winning goal at Valladolid, clinching the title by a mere two points.

Barcelona bounced back the following season, finishing second before claiming the La Liga title under Xavi in the 2022/23 season. It does make one ponder whether Suarez could have been the difference between third and first place in 2021, even though he was dissatisfied with how the whole situation was handled.

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