Luis Suarez has scored goals throughout his career, including in a memorable spell at Anfield, but one transfer saga rubbed the Uruguay international up the wrong way
Luis Suarez warming up for Atletico Madrid
Luis Suarez's move to Atletico Madrid wasn't without tension(Image: Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
This week's Champions League meeting between Liverpool and Atletico Madrid is a chance for two of Luis Suarez's former clubs to face off. The Uruguayan's spell in Madrid got off to a rocky start, though, and it was all down to Barcelona.
Suarez left Liverpool for Barca in a £75million deal in 2014 and won the Champions League in his first season at Camp Nou. He hit new heights one season later, scoring 59 goals in just 53 appearances, but by 2020 the Catalan side's financial woes left them desperate to clear high earners off the books.
Arda Turan and Arturo Vidal both left for free, while Ivan Rakitic rejoined former club Sevilla in a cut-price deal. Suarez was due to also leave for nothing, but things took a turn when it emerged that Atleti were keen. Barcelona and Suarez reached an agreement after new manager Ronald Koeman told the former Ajax star he was free to leave. Barca would pay off the player, who would forego some of the money from the final year of his contract in exchange for being allowed to leave without a transfer fee.
There were conditions, though, as ESPN reported at the time. He couldn't join fierce rivals Real Madrid, while moves to Manchester City, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain were also forbidden, but Atletico Madrid weren't initially named on the list of moves he wasn't allowed to make.
That soon changed, though. Barcelona were reportedly reluctant to repeat their 2013 mistake, when David Villa was allowed to join Atleti and scored 13 league goals to help them win the title, and - while they wanted rid of Suarez - they didn't want history to repeat itself.
Suarez was said to be furious at all of this, not understanding Barca's stance. He had been told he could leave, and had opted for a club not on the club's banned list, yet was still being blocked.
Eventually, a compromise was reached between the clubs, with Atleti still avoiding an initial fee but agreeing to pay performance-related add-ons. Reports at the time indicated the total amount payable was somewhere between £3.5m and £5.2m, and this will have quickly felt like a bargain for the buying club.
David Villa celebrating with Atletico Madrid in 2014
Barcelona were wary of letting another star join Atletico Madrid after David Villa's success
Suarez scored 16 La Liga goals in his final Barcelona season, and 21 for Atleti was not just a significant step up but also the most any player had bagged for Diego Simeone's side since Antoine Griezmann in 2015/16. Three of those goals in particular caught the eye, though.
The first came in March, when Real Madrid visited the Wanda Metropolitano looking to derail their neighbours' title bid. Karim Benzema cancelled out Suarez's goal with a late equaliser, but Atleti were still in the driving seat.
The final few weeks of the season saw the big three exchange places, but Barcelona fell away thanks to a return of eight points from their last six matches. Atleti threatened to sabotage their own bid, only for a late Suarez winner to rescue them at home to Osasuna and ensure that, going into the final day, one of the Madrid clubs was guaranteed to lift the title.
Luis Suarez celebrating a dramatic late winner against Osasuna
Suarez celebrating a dramatic late winner against Osasuna
Real Madrid do what they always do, threatening to throw the title away before late goals from Benzema and Luka Modric saw them past Villarreal. It counted for naught, though, with Suarez - who else - scoring Atleti's winner at Valladolid to give them the title by a margin of just two points.
Barcelona returned to second place the following season before winning La Liga under Xavi in the 2022/23 season. One wonders whether Suarez might have been the difference between third and first in 2021, though - even if the player wasn't happy with how they handled the whole affair.