It was like a strange decision at the time – selling a contender like Luis Suarez to a title contestant for a hefty price tag of just £ 4million.
Last summer Barcelona’s new boss Ronald Koeman made it clear that the Uruguayan were not in his plans to wake up in the future and in Atletico while offering him a two-year contract for his take off their hands. A strange way for the club to complete the stint of the third highest scorer in history.
We know Barcelona are in financial trouble and we would have been grateful to have received the 34-year-old man’s huge salary bill from their books, but it is a decision that they need to look at. back with a little regret now that former Liverpool star is shooting Diego Simeone ‘s men to the top of La Liga.
Luis Suarez is shooting Atletico Madrid for the title this season, while Martin Braithwaite (R) is still struggling at Barcelona
Suarez is at the top of the scoring charts in Spain’s top flight with 12 goals – one more than his old friend Lionel Messi, who was left furious with his sale and did not hold back by calling the decision to let him go ‘cunning’.
‘What happened to Luis Suarez to [Atletico Madrid] it was crazy. He went free, paying the remaining years of his contract and joined a team that is fighting for the same goals as us. Incredible.
Luis Suarez’s departure had nothing to do with the decision [to submit a transfer request] but I felt like he was crazy as his exit was handled and Barcelona let him go straight to competitive. We talk loudly and I talk to Luis every day. ‘
Lionel Messi called Barcelona’s decision to sell Atletico ‘crazy’, and it is proven right
Crazy is not a bad word to describe it. Crazy to strengthen a direct competitor while leaving you weak. Suarez did not have the most advanced campaign for Barcelona last season but still scored 21 times.
Take that away and you have a lot of burden on Messi who is not as daring to the cause as he once was, and Antoine Griezmann who performs poorly when the Argentine has a day off from time to time.
Crazy, who ended up with Barcelona, kept Martin Braithwaite at Campa Nou in his place, the Middlesbrough striker who signed an emergency loan last season. Judging by its final result since it signed the dotted line, the need for its services looks like more of a false alarm.
The club still has Martin Braithwaite in the ranks, who has scored just three LaLiga goals.
In 27 La Liga appearances, Braithwaite have scraped just three times – two of them have come this season. Believe it or not, the Dane has scored six goals in all competitions in 2020-21, but most of his impact has come in cup games.
The 29 – year – old has played more games than Suarez as a whole, statistics from Opta show, and Koeman got 13 starts – enough time to prove himself. Braithwaite on his day is clearly able to get on the scoreboard as he has quality of support.
He won a brace against Dynamo Kiev in November and followed that up with two goals in rhythms against Osasuna and Ferencvaros. But Barcelona no longer has the playing chanter in Suarez.
The Danish striker comes in with the odd goal but not the pitcher they had in Suarez
Uruguay have netted 12 times this season with Atletico Madrid ten points away from Barca
Atletico always seem to have a star man to push them forward – from Fernando Torres to Sergio Aguero or Radamel Falco and Diego Costa.
Now they have Suarez and the club are left crushed after seeing his sublime form under Simeone. After Suarez scored his 12th of the season against Valencia, club president Enrique Cerezo hailed him as ‘the best forward in Europe’.
He has five goals in his last five La Liga games with a minute-by-goal level of 118 and proves to be deadly in the box as well – he has a 34 percent shot turn after just 35 hits. caught in Spain’s main plane. .
Suarez has proven to be a sarcastic man in his career – whether he’s biting his opponents, diving in the box or deliberately handball on the line, he’s not. it is never far from the headlines.
Ronald Koeman has made it clear that Suarez was not in his plans but will reject his decision
Suarez and Diego Simeone are well-suited in Madrid – both fiery and passionate characters
You always know what you get with Suarez, but last week Simeone explained that it was this fire in his womb that led him to believe that Wanda Metropolitano would succeed.
‘When I spoke to Luis on the phone I found what he offers on the pitch: a lot of desire and energy,’ he said.
‘The team helps him to be at his best, scoring, something that is celebrated throughout life.’
His success at Atletico will surely leave Barca fans scratching their heads about their transfer policy. The Catalan outfit went on to kill stage last summer with the likes of Ivan Rakitic, Artur, Nelson Semedo, Rafinha and Arturo Vidal – all high paid players who weren’t guaranteed minutes .
Barcelona’s transfer policy was made to look questionable with Suarez’s success
But it seems baffling that Braithwaite survived the exodus while Suarez got the chop despite playing 36 games in all competitions last season.
Some of the innings have certainly been dubious – Miralem Pjanic has cost around £ 60m but has started just three times, and Serginho Dest’s £ 23.5m looks almost like a global blow. the right back.
But for the most part the worst piece of business for them was letting Suarez go – and he’s making a huge impact at the top of the list. Ten points separate Barcelona and Atletico in fourth place at the top.
Suarez has just not proven that his old club was wrong to get rid of – it shows that he still has plenty of more years at his peak. Barca are entering a new era and are not at all like the team they once were – but they are much weaker without Suarez and their loss is Atletico ‘s advantage.