Juventus News: Luis Suarez Transfer From Barcelona To Turin Not Possible, Fabio Paratici Confirms

Luis Suarez will not be moving to Turin after all.

Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici has confirmed that the club is stopping its pursuit of the star striker from Barcelona, citing that the difficulties in acquiring an Italian passport have made the transfer move ultimately impossible for the Uruguayan.

“Suarez can be removed from that list, because the time it takes to get the passport is longer than the transfer deadline or the moment we can hand in the Champions League lists," Paratici told Sky Sport, via Goal.

“We evaluated the Suarez option when it was proposed to us. He was in the process of getting Italian citizenship, so we evaluated the possibility of registering him in time.

“It is not possible, so he was never really close.”

Suarez just took an Italian exam in the city of Perugia on Thursday as part of the requirements to acquire an Italian passport. But the prolonged process before such is completed turned out to be the deal-breaker.

But apparently, the writing was already on the wall.

Prior to Paratici’s confirmation, it had already been reported that the Bianconeri was tempering its expectations on the Suarez deal as new coach Andrea Pirlo admitted that “bureaucratic issues over securing a passport” could disrupt the move.

And so, it did.

"Passport times are long, it'd be difficult for him to be a Juventus striker," Pirlo said, via Goal.

An earlier report bared that Suarez and Juventus had already reached a personal agreement that would pay the 33-year-old around $12 million per season over a three-year contract.

With the deal now called off, Suarez would now have to become resigned to Ronald Koeman, who has openly said that the Uruguay international will not be part of his plans for Barcelona.

But although they are at odds with each other, the new Barca boss assured that Suarez will be treated the same as the rest at Camp Nou if the prized footballer indeed stays.

“We respect every contract here and if in the end he does not find a club and he stays, he will be just like any other player in the squad," Koeman said.