The Uruguayan still sees a future for himself at Barcelona.
Luis Suarez gave an interview to El Pais where he opened up about his Barcelona future. He was one of the players who Josep Maria Bartomeu indirectly referenced as being on the market during his interview with Barça TV.
Unsurprisingly, when the topic of him possibly leaving the club, Suarez stated that no one had spoken to him about leaving and he feels that he still has a lot left to offer.
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"“As long as they count on me, I want to keep giving all I can. I have felt the support of the fans since I arrived and that gives me a lot of strength to continue.”Source: Diario Sport"
He has one year left on his contract and his plan is to continue. Should he be notified by the club that he is expendable then he will fight for a place on the team.
"“There is talk about the names mentioned by the president and about changes that could happen, but no one at the club has told me they want to get rid of me.”“If that is what the club want it would be nice if the decision-makers communicated that to me. It is better that way than leaking names. I want the best for the team and my intention is to stay.”Source: ESPN"
There is a debate to be made whether or not Suarez is a liability given his age and diminishing returns. If that is what Barcelona consider the case, then they need to be direct with the Uruguayan and state their intentions. It is the least he deserves after all he’s done at the club.
Suarez has yet to speak to manager Ronald Koeman regarding his status. But it is clear that there is to be a small clear out of the older players following the defeat to Bayern Munich both to give younger players a chance and to cut the wage bill.
Barcelona cannot afford to have Suarez as a bench player.
Suarez’s desire to stay is so great that he is willing to come off the bench. He stated that he’s had no problems with being on the bench in the past and would not have one now if that is what Koeman wants.
However, that scenario appears unlikely both in a sporting and financial sense.
Financially, the club cannot afford to have a player with his wages sitting on the bench and coming on in the last 20 minutes or so of a game.
With the abundance of players in attack already and new names like Pedri and Trincao just arriving, space needs to be made in the squad for these players. Any way you slice it, every possible avenue leads to Suarez being moved on.
He does have suitors. He’s been linked with a move to MLS in the past with David Beckham’s Inter Miami reportedly interested in him. If his goal is to stay in Europe, his former club Ajax are also said to be interested with both sides having already talked to one another about a possible return.
Suarez has been a key player for Barcelona since he arrived from Liverpool back in 2014. But every cycle has to come to an end and his appears to be over. With one year left on his contract, it will be up to the Catalan side to convince him that a move is the best thing for both sides.