Luis Suarez has spoken out about the manner of his exit from Barcelona last summer to join La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid.
The Uruguayan spent six seasons at Barcelona, and whilst he was deemed surplus to requirements due to his age, he is now the joint-top scorer in La Liga with Lionel Messi, with Suarez shining for Atletico.
Since the transfer, Barcelona have failed to find a replacement for Suarez, often having to put Martin Braithwaite up front to lead the line, when it is clear that he is not the quality striker that the La Liga giants need.
Whilst speaking with France Football, the former Barcelona striker has unveiled the manner of his exit, and he revealed how upset he was by the way that his time at the club came to an end.
"There are many different things in Barca. The team needed a lot of changes, and I accepted that. What bothered me was the way I left."
"I have always tried to maintain professionalism for Barcelona. It's not easy to play in Barcelona for six years at the same level."
Whilst speaking about the manner of his departure, he stated how disappointing it was to leave the club and how surprised he was initially, saying "I think I deserved some respect in the way that they told me to leave. They told me they wouldn't count on me anymore, so I decided to leave for Atletico to show them what I can still do."
"I would have understood their decision if I was not on the required level. My stats have always been good, and I was scoring more than 20 goals every season."
"There a number of current players in Barca who have not achieved what was expected of them," he added.
Whilst speaking on his relationship with Messi, he said "The world knows about my relationship with Leo. I miss our daily conversations that are not just about football but about life in general. My children have established a friendship with Messi's children. But we knew we were going to split up one day, so we were ready for that day."
When questioned about his relationship with Ronald Koeman and how it compares to his relationship with Messi, he said "This is a question Leo could answer. The coach won't miss me, he said he made his decision. But Leo misses a friend who was by his side every day."
Suarez has scored 16 goals and provided 2 assists in the 20 La Liga appearances that he has made for Atletico Madrid this season.
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