“At this point nothing surprises me” - When Lionel Messi accused Barcelona of kicking his friend out of club
Lionel Messi once criticized his former club Barcelona for "kicking out" his friend Luis Suarez from the club. The Uruguayan striker, widely considered one of Barca's biggest legends, left the club in 2020 to join their league rivals Atletico Madrid.
In 2020, Barcelona sold Luis Suarez to Atletico Madrid for a reported €6 million deal after then-newly appointed coach Ronald Koeman did not include him in his plans. Suarez's departure is believed to have played a key role in Lionel Messi famously wanting to leave the club in the same year after sending a burofax to the management.
In an Instagram post dedicated to Suarez in 2020, Lionel Messi took a subtle dig at Barcelona, indicating that the Uruguayan's departure should have been handled better. He wrote:
"I was already getting the idea but today [Friday] I entered the dressing room and the penny really dropped. It is going to be so difficult to not continue sharing the day to day with you, both on the pitches and away from them. We are going to miss you so much. It was many years, a lot of [yerba] mate, lunches, dinners… many things that will never be forgotten, all those days together."
Messi added:
"It will be strange to see you in another shirt and more so to face you. You deserved to leave like what you are: one of the most important players in the club's history, achieving important things both as a group and individually. And not to get kicked out like they did. But the truth is that at this point nothing surprises me.I wish you all the best in this new challenge. I love you very much, we love you very much. See you soon, friend."
Luis Suarez joined the Catalan giants from Liverpool in 2014, spending six seasons alongside Lionel Messi at the Camp Nou. The striker scored 195 goals and recorded 113 assists for the club across competitions, alongside winning one Champions League, four La Liga titles, and four Copa del Reys.
During his time at Barcelona, Lionel Messi shared the pitch with Luis Suarez 258 times, recording 99 joint-goal participations. The duo reunited once again when Suarez moved to Messi's current club, Inter Miami in December 2023.
When Luis Suarez revealed he and Lionel Messi dreamt of retiring at Barcelona
Shortly after joining Inter Miami, Luis Suarez revealed that he's happy to reunite with his friend and former Blaugrana teammate, Lionel Messi. The Uruguayan mentioned that the duo originally intended to retire together at the Camp Nou. He said (via MARCA):
"I didn't imagine we would be together again because I thought Leo would finish his career at Barcelona. In 2019 we imagined winning everything at Barca and we dreamed of retiring there. First I left and then they all left after me."
Like Suarez, Lionel Messi too has mentioned in various interviews that he wished to retire at his boyhood club. Messi left the Catalan club as a free agent in 2021 to join Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), before moving to Inter Miami in 2023. The Argentine hopes to return to Barca one day and missed an opportunity to say goodbye to the fans.