Luis Suarez Signs Two-Year Deal with Atletico Madrid
By: Esteban Barrera
There had been talks about Lionel Messi possibly leaving Barcelona because he was unhappy in the club and with the organization, however, the soccer community was completely blindsided when it was announced that Luis Suarez had been sold to Atletico Madrid. It is known that in a recent interview with Barcelona’s new coach Ronald Koeman when asked about Suarez he said,
“I told him it might be complicated for him to play if he stayed on, but if he stayed, I'd count on him.”
Despite his reassurance, Barcelona had no plans on keeping him so they discussed his move to another team. Suarez, however, did not want to move since this has been the team where he’s had very successful seasons. In fact, Suarez has scored 198 goals out of 283 appearances, making him the third all-time leading scorer in the Spanish club. Suarez also won numerous league titles for the Spanish league as well as a couple of titles for the European championship tournament known as the UEFA Champions League. Suarez was proved to be a key component to Barcelona’s recent successes, however, that all seemed to come to an abrupt end as Barcelona decided that the future of Suarez would no longer be considered in Barcelona FC.
Barcelona claimed to be unwilling to pay Suarez the rest of his contract that was still owed by the football club. Despite the dispute over Suarez’s contract, both parties have agreed to a settlement that will oversee that fulfillment of his contract. In search of a new team, it was known that Juventus, an Italian team, had an interest in signing him. However, the transfer did not work out due to certain issues with Suarez’s Italian citizenship.
Soon enough, a rival of Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, picked up Suarez where he signed a two-year deal with the Spanish club for 5.5 million euros. There was some speculation about Suarez’s transition into the new team, however, all of these rumors were put to rest when Suarez debuted for the first time on Sept. 27.
He came off the bench late in the second half and only needed 70 seconds to make an impact, creating the assist that would lead to a goal. 20 minutes later, Suarez would end up scoring two goals, increasing the lead for Atletico and securing the win for his new team. After the game, the coach of Atletico Madrid was asked about Suarez’s performance and he stated,
“I don't know how a team like Barcelona let a player like Suarez go.”
Suarez has proved once and again that he is a very skilled player and no matter which team he’s in, he always makes sure that his presence is felt on the pitch. Suarez's next game will be on Sept. 27 and fans are eager to see his impact on the match. The game that can be considered the most anticipated clash of the Spanish league will take place on Nov. 22, where Suarez will be playing against his former club, Barcelona.