La Liga News: Barcelona’s Luis Suarez To Transfer To Atletico Madrid

Striker Luis Suarez will be transferring to Atletico Madrid after serving six years in Barcelona. This deal will cost El Atleti €4 million as a nominal fee for the 33-year-old star.

The decision comes after new manager Ronald Koeman shared that Suarez is no longer part of the long-term plan at Camp Nou. Having Suarez sign with Atletico Madrid means he will earn half of the €30 million a year he had at Barca, BBC reported.

Earlier in September, Suarez was set in joining Serie A club Juventus. This did not push through as he encountered issues with his Italian citizenship application. There were allegations of Suarez cheating his language test where it was reported that he knew the questions to the exam in advance.

The transfer to Atletico Madrid ends Suarez’s stellar career with Barca where he created a big name for himself. The veteran joined Barcelona in 2014, transferring from Premier League’s Liverpool. Throughout his career as one of Barca’s stars, he has proven multiple times that he is among the elite finishers in the sport. In 283 appearances, he’s netted 198 goals and tallied 109 assists as Lionel Messi’s trusted partner. Their tandem led to multiple accolades for Camp Nou, including four La Liga championships.

In last season’s La Liga, Atletico Madrid finished third overall in the team standings. It was a tight affair between Real Madrid and Barcelona for the top spot as Diego Simone’s squad followed with a tally of 70 points. Introducing Suarez to the Atletico Madrid roster adds more offensive firepower for the club, as he will join Diego Costa as part of the rotation.

For the past few months, there have been reports that Barcelona has plans of rebuilding its squad. After Quique Setien’s sacking, rumors of internal turmoil became rampant and it nearly had Messi leave the team. Reports of the six-time Ballon d’Or winner leaving the club have dwindled down and Messi is now back practicing with the team. This time, he’ll have to continue playing without the trusty services of Suarez.

It will be interesting to see how Barcelona moves forward from this situation and if they can replicate the offensive boost Suarez adds to the club.