Suarez claims Koeman call ending Barcelona career lasted 40 SECONDS

Luis Suarez launches scathing attack on Ronald Koeman and claims phone call which ended his Barcelona career lasted just 40 SECONDS… as Atletico Madrid forward accuses Dutchman of ‘lacking personality’

  • Luis Suarez was allowed to join Atletico Madrid from Barcelona in a £5,5m move
  • That came after he held a conversation on the phone with boss Ronald Koeman 
  • Suarez was told in no uncertain terms last year he did not have a future at club 
  • He came back to haunt his former club by scoring against them last weekend
  • Now the Uruguayan has launched a fresh attack on the 58-year-old Dutchman 

Luis Suarez has launched a blistering attack on Ronald Koeman, accusing the Barcelona boss of ‘lacking personality’.

The Uruguayan was allowed to join Atletico Madrid in a £5.5million transfer from the Catalan giants last year following a phone call with the then newly-appointed Dutch boss.

The 34-year-old came back to haunt his former club last weekend, netting the second and final goal without reply for Diego Simeone’s men’s at the Wanda Metropolitano to inflict a first league defeat of the season on Barcelona.


Luis Suarez (L) has launched a blistering attack on Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman (R)

The Uruguayan was allowed to join Atletico Madrid in a £5.5m transfer from the Catalan giants

Suarez denied that the phone call gesture after scoring was directed at Koeman, but he has now criticised the 58-year-old publicly, insisting the latter did not make it clear if it was him or the club who wanted him gone. 

‘The Koeman phone call to tell me that he was not counting on me lasted 40 seconds, it is not the way to get rid of a legend,’ Suarez told Gerard Romero’s ‘Jijantes FC’ Twitch channel via MARCA.

‘First he told me that I would not be in his plans and then he told me that if I did not resolve my contract I was going to play (in the first game of the season) against Villarreal.

‘He lacked personality to tell me things clearly, if he did not want me or if it was really the club that did not want me.’

Suarez came back to haunt his former club last weekend by scoring the second in a 2-0 win

He denied the phone call gesture was directed at Koeman, but has now criticised the latter

Suarez also admitted the period prior to sealing a move to last season’s Spanish champions was among the most difficult he has experienced as a player.

The unravelling of his own Barcelona career came at the same time as close friend Lionel Messi’s transfer request to leave the club.

However, a move was not sanctioned by Barcelona and the Argentine ended up staying another season before moving to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer on a free transfer.

‘They were very difficult days because of everything I gave to the club. I spoke with Sofía (his wife) and Leo after the call,’ Suarez added.

Suarez said his family as well of that of close friend Lionel Messi (L) suffered last summer

‘It was a complicated year because of everything. Messi asked to leave and then I left.

‘The two families had a very bad time. I came home in a very bad way from training.’

Suarez also said he may have taken a pay cut last term amid Barcelona’s financial woes currently amounting to more than £1billion, but that it was not an offer on the table at the time.

He also added that he was ‘grateful’ to play for the club for a six-year period, in which he scored an impressive 198 goals, winning four LaLiga titles and the 2014-15 Champions League crown in the process.

Suarez’s 21 goals in LaLiga last season helped Atletico Madrid win the Spanish league

But his goals in 2020-21 helped fire Simeone’s side to the title instead, with only Karim Benzema, Gerard Moreno and Messi scoring more than his 21 LaLiga goals last season.

However his latest goal saw him make a phone gesture celebration, and some believed it was towards Koeman, who was in the stands serving a touchline ban.

But Suarez said: ‘(The celebration) was for the people who know I have the same number, so they know I’m still on my phone,’ Suarez told Movistar. ‘It was something I had agreed on with my kids. It was not for Koeman, not at all.’

Suarez has also warned former team-mate Xavi not to take the Barcelona job, believing he could damage his legacy at the club given the current state of affairs on and off the pitch at Camp Nou. 




Share this article


Source: Read Full Article