Man Utd transfer clause was inserted in contract of Liverpool star sold for £75m

He was banned from making a controversial move to Manchester United, given his history at Liverpool, despite being told by Barcelona that they no longer needed him

Manchester United were once blocked from signing Luis Suarez due to a transfer ban clause inserted into his contract. The Uruguayan striker spent six seasons at Barcelona, where he won four La Liga titles and the Champions League playing alongside the likes of Lionel Messi and Neymar.

But following the 2019/20 season, the ageing superstar was told he was surplus to requirements by manager Ronald Koeman and to look for a new team. The Catalans, however, allegedly backtracked on an agreement to let him leave for free after it emerged he was close to signing for La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid.

Suarez had agreed to give up a percentage of the money owed to him in the final year of his contract and Barca would, in turn, let him leave for free, provided that he didn’t join a handful of clubs.

Real Madrid, Manchester United, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain were all on that list, as agreed when he signed from Liverpool for a whopping £75million back in 2014.

The former Reds sensation reached an agreement to join Atletico, only for the Blaugrana to block his move to the Spanish capital too as they didn’t want to strengthen a direct rival.

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After threatening legal action and claiming Barcelona should have honoured the agreement to terminate his contract, Suarez finally signed a two-year deal at the Wanda Metropolitano.

He notched two goals and an assist on his debut – an immediate foreshadowing of the huge mistake Barca had made – and went on to score 21 goals in 32 La Liga matches as Diego Simeone’s side won the title. Suarez would score another 13 goals the following campaign before sealing a return to Uruguay with Nacional.

By winning the league in his first season, the now Inter Miami striker, 38, did something he was unable to do in three-and-a-half seasons at Anfield, despite being regarded as one of the best strikers in the world at that time.

From January 2011 to the summer of 2014, the controversial forward managed 82 goals in 133 appearances, including a phenomenal final season where he scored 31 in 33 league matches.

As such, he is one of the few players, along with Fernando Torres, to hold legend status at both Liverpool and Atletico, despite being booed by the Anfield faithful upon his return to face them in the Champions League in November 2021.

The Reds won that group stage clash 2-0 courtesy of goals from the late Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane. And it is unclear which of his former sides Suarez will support on Wednesday evening as they face off at Anfield, four years on from their last encounter.

Ahead of their 2025/26 Champions League opener, the Reds have been in fine form in the Premier League, winning all four of their matches thus far. However, Arne Slot will be frustrated that they’ve had to rely on late goals to win each of those games.

Atletico, meanwhile, have struggled this season, only winning one of their first four La Liga clashes. That came at the weekend with a 2-0 win at home over Villarreal, though Liverpool away will present a far tougher challenge.

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