icon bookmark-bicon bookmarkicon cameraicon checkicon chevron downicon chevron lefticon chevron righticon chevron upicon closeicon v-compressicon downloadicon editicon v-expandicon fbicon fileicon filtericon flag ruicon full chevron downicon full chevron lefticon full chevron righticon full chevron upicon gpicon insicon mailicon moveicon-musicicon mutedicon nomutedicon okicon v-pauseicon v-playicon searchicon shareicon sign inicon sign upicon stepbackicon stepforicon swipe downicon tagicon tagsicon tgicon trashicon twicon vkicon yticon wticon fm
9 Oct, 2020 14:34

'I was hurt by the way they did things': Luis Suarez reveals his TEARS at Barcelona's handling of his exit from the club

'I was hurt by the way they did things': Luis Suarez reveals his TEARS at Barcelona's handling of his exit from the club

Luis Suarez, the third top scorer in Barcelona's history, has revealed that he cried at the club's handling of his exit from the club this summer as he aimed fiercely critical comments at the club's hierarchy.

Suarez's six-year stint in Catalunya came to an end last month when he moved to La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid after being informed by new manager Ronald Koeman that his services were no longer required at the Camp Nou.

But the Uruguayan star admits that the situation was "very difficult" after being told to stop training with the first-team prior to his departure.

Also on rt.com Luis Suarez leaves Barcelona training ground IN TEARS & for final time ahead of proposed move to Atletico Madrid (VIDEO)

"Those days were very difficult. I cried because of what I was having to go through," Suarez admitted. 

"I was hurt most of all by the way they did things, because one has to accept it when a cycle comes to an end."

Suarez was a huge success at Barcelona following his £74million ($95million / €81.2million) switch from Liverpool in 2014, helping the Spanish giants to four La Liga titles, four domestic cups and the 2015 Champions League.

However, Suarez's final season at Barcelona was notable for him scoring just 21 goals - his lowest seasonal tally at the club - and became disillusioned when he was left out of Barcelona's pre-season games.

With just one year left on his contract, he says he knew it was time to leave - but that didn't make the situation any easier. 

"I didn't take the club's message that they were looking for a solution for me in order to mix things up very well," he said. 

"Not everyone knows what happened but the worst thing was going to training and being sent to a different group from everyone else because I was not allowed to play in practice matches.

"My wife could see how unhappy I was and she wanted to see me smile again and when the chance came to join Atletico I had no doubts."

Suarez's disenchantment was echoed by Lionel Messi, who infamously attempted to engineer a move away from Barcelona in August, who wrote on social media that he felt Suarez had been "kicked out" of Barcelona. 

Also on rt.com Back together: Luis Suarez drives best friend Messi to the airport as ex-Barcelona pairing head to internationals together (VIDEO)

"I wasn't surprised that Messi supported me publicly because I know him too well," Suarez noted.

"He knew the pain I was going through, the feeling that I was being kicked out was what hurt me the most.

"The way they did things was not right and Leo knows how me and my family suffered."

A move to Juventus didn't pan out due to complications regarding Suarez's citizenship test, with the player eventually opting to move to Atletico - where he has found the back of the net twice in three games.

Podcasts
0:00
23:13
0:00
25:0