Uruguay and Atletico Madrid star, Luis Suarez has opened up for the first time about his acrimonious exit from Barcelona this summer.
Suarez was forced to find a new club over the summer after new coach Ronald Norman revealed he wasn’t part of his plans and Suarez believes he deserved better treatment from his former side.
Suarez’s close friend and former colleague Lionel Messi took a swipe at Barcelona over how they shoved off Suarez out of Camp Nou, and now Suarez has commented on Messi’s statement.
“You deserved a farewell that fit with who you are: one of the most important players in the history of the club. Someone who achieved great things for the team and on an individual level,” Messi posted on Instagram at the time.
“You did not deserve for them to throw you out like they did. But the truth is that at this stage nothing surprises me anymore.”
Suarez speaking about his Barcelona departure., said.
“I was not surprised about Messi because I know him too well, I knew the pain he felt, as I did,” Suarez said after scoring in Uruguay’s 2-1 win against Chile on Thursday.
“He felt they kicked me out of the club because of the forms. There were other ways to do things correctly with me. They were six long years and that bothered him too. I see him as a friend and he knows how badly we suffered.
“My family wanted to see me happy. There are some strange things at Barcelona like sending you to train separately because you were not considered for the game…
“Those kinds of things made me bad and my family saw me affected, so they encouraged me to take the opportunity. When Atletico came looking for me, I didn’t hesitate for a single moment.
“Obviously I have to get used to various things, but I feel very happy at Atletico.”