Barcelona To Pay $17M Compensation Fee To Cancel Contract Of Messi’s Star Teammate: Report

FC Barcelona reportedly will have to pay $17 million to cancel Luis Suarez’s contract, which is due to expire in 2021.

Barcelona are undergoing a revamp under new manager Ronald Koeman, who took over the club’s charge recently after the Spanish side sacked Quique Setien. These new developments have been the result of Barcelona’s 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich at the quarter-finals of the 2019-20 Champions League.

Koeman is expected to make a lot of changes after the Catalans went without a trophy for the first time since 2008. Barcelona captain Lionel Messi could be the first player out of Nou Camp this summer as he has officially requested the club to let him leave amid interest from Manchester City.

It was reported that the Premier League side has offered Messi a five-year deal that would see him play at Etihad for the first three seasons before heading to Major League Soccer (MLS) to play the final two seasons of the deal with Man City’s sister club New York FC.

Koeman has informed Suarez that he does not feature in the club’s future plans. Soccer website Goal has claimed that the Uruguayan plans to continue training with Barcelona until the La Liga club decides whether to cancel his contract, which could cost them at least $17 million in compensation fees.

The Goal report further explained that if Suarez is released this summer, he could join his next club as a free agent.

Ever since the 33-year-old striker has been told he is no longer needed at Barcelona, a club he joined in 2014, he has been linked with at least five clubs. Suarez’s former club Ajax earlier said it was monitoring Suarez’s transfer situation. The former Liverpool forward has reportedly been offered to Serie A champions Juventus, while there have been reports about a possible move to MLS side Inter Miami.

Suarez once said a move to MLS could be a "nice possibility" and it was understood that he had received an offer from Inter Miami, which was co-owned by David Beckham.

Suarez, who formed one of Europe’s best front three with Messi and Neymar between 2013 and 2017 before the Brazilian joined PSG, has netted 198 goals for the Catalans and has won several trophies with the club, including four La Liga titles and a Champions League.