"I suffered with him" - Luis Suarez opens up on PSG star Lionel Messi's exit from Barcelona
Former Barcelona striker Luis Suarez has opened up on Lionel Messi's shocking departure from the club.
The Argentine left Camp Nou after 17 years to join PSG on a free transfer after La Liga regulations kept him from signing a new contract with the Catalans.
His departure sent shockwaves around the world as what seemed unthinkable happened abruptly, with Messi ending up leaving Barcelona last summer.
Lionel Messi with FC Barcelona.
Matches: 778, all time record at the club
Goals: 672, all time record at the club
Assists: 268, all time record at the club
Titles: 34, all time record at the club
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Suarez, who left the club the year before to join Atletico Madrid, has now revealed that the news took him by surprise and he shared Messi's pain.
Speaking to Spanish radio network Cadena SER, the Uruguayan said:
"I was surprised and I suffered with him because he was also surprised. We had been on vacation a few days before and he said, 'I have the signature on Thursday."
He added:
"On Thursday at noon, Antonella notifies my wife that she did not renew. After a while we started talking because I ended up writing to her and she told me how the situation had been, sad, obviously, down."
Messi's contract with Barcelona expired on 30 June 2021 but was supposed to sign a new one after his return from international commitments.
However, financial problems relating to the Spanish top flight's regulations prevented him from putting pen to paper.
PSG quickly swooped in and priced him away to the French capital, where he endured a tough first year with the club despite winning the Ligue 1 title.
Suarez himself bid Atletico adieu after two years this season but has confirmed his interest in continuing in Europe despite offers from Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.
PSG star's divorce with Barcelona didn't work for either party
The first year for both parties without each other didn't work for either - Messi recorded his lowest goal-return in the league in 16 years whereas Barca finished trophyless.
Having worked together for nearly two decades, the separation was always going to be tough for both parties, who ushered in a new era.
Barcelona reached the Champions League knockout stages in each of the 17 seasons Lionel Messi was in their first team.
In their first season without him, they’ve been eliminated at the group stage https://t.co/Ff7fUSzu6s
However, there are signs of renaissance.
Forty per cent of Messi's 20-goal contributions in the league came in the last two months of the campaign alone, suggesting that he's finally settling in at Paris.
Barcelona, meanwhile, improved massively under Xavi and eventually finished second in La Liga after teetering closer to mid-table than the top before his arrival.
It will be interesting to see what the 2022-23 season brings for them.