The story behind Barcelona's disastrous rejection of Luis Suárez


The Uruguayan, at 34, has been sensational for Atlético. Not bad for a free transfer who Barcelona were desperate to get rid of

“Madness,” Lionel Messi called it, but even he hadn’t imagined it being this mad.

One Friday in September Messi walked into the dressing room at Barcelona’s San Joan Despí training ground and it hit him. After six years his best friend wasn’t there, so he sent him a message. “It’ll be strange seeing you in another shirt,” it said, and two days on he discovered how strange when Luis Suárez made his Atlético Madrid debut. Introduced as a sub against Granada, 90 seconds later, Suárez had provided an assist. By the end of the 90 minutes, he had scored two.

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

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