Luis Suárez says he was reduced to tears by Barcelona’s treatment of him

Luis Suárez claims he was reduced to tears by Barcelona’s treatment of him in his final weeks at the club, which included not being allowed to take part in training matches.

Suárez joined Atlético Madrid last month having become Barcelona’s third all-time top scorer with 198 goals during a glittering six-year spell at the club. He was forced out with one year left on his contract during what was, and continues to be, a messy period for the Spanish giants.

“Those days were very difficult. I cried because of what I was having to go through,” said Suárez after Uruguay’s 2-1 World Cup qualifying victory over Chile on Thursday. “I didn’t take the club’s message that they were looking for a solution for me in order to mix things up very well. I was hurt most of all by the way they did things, because one has to accept it when a cycle comes to an end.”

“Not everyone knows what happened but the worst thing was going to training and being sent to a different group from everyone else because I was not allowed to play in practice matches. My wife could see how unhappy I was and she wanted to see me smile again and when the chance came to join Atlético I had no doubts.”

Suárez scored twice in Atlético 6-1 win over Granada on his debut and having received the support of Lionel Messi in regards to treatment by Barcelona. “You deserved a farewell befitting who you are: one of the most important players in the history of the club, achieving great things for the team and on an individual level,” Messi wrote on Instagram. “You did not deserve for them to throw you out like they did. But the truth is that at this stage nothing surprises me any more.”

“I wasn’t surprised that Messi supported me publicly because I know him too well,” Suárez added. “He knew the pain I was going through, the feeling that I was being kicked out was what hurt me the most. The way they did things was not right and Leo knows how me and my family suffered.”

source: theguardian.com