The first heavyweight falls at Barcelona.
The first domino has fallen at Barcelona as manager Ronald Koeman has told Luis Suarez that he does not count on him for the upcoming season.
According to Diario Sport, the Dutch manager met with Suarez and informed him that he should look for a new team as well as accept a termination his contract.
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The Uruguayan striker has one year left on his contract and had previously expressed his desire to stay even going as far as accepting a reduced role at the club.
Barcelona’s plan is for Suarez to be gone by the time the team head back to training at the end of the month.
With a shortened time table, it seems that they don’t believe they can get a deal with another team done in time thus the plea for the player to terminate his contract.
While changes were coming following an embarrassing end to a tumultuous season, it does seem a peculiar move to terminate the contract of the third-highest goalscorer in club history.
Usually that’s reserved for players who have been on the sidelines for a long spell with the club having no intentions of using them. Barcelona recently terminated Arthur Melo’s contract following a rebellion from the player after not playing at all as soon as his move to Juventus became final.
The decision will have a ripple effect in Barcelona.
Josep Maria Bartomeu said that the club needed to move on from some of the older players but that they would be moved on in a respectable manner to show appreciation for what they’ve done during their time at Barcelona.
It certainly doesn’t feel that way with Suarez. It’s more like they want to get rid of him as soon as possible and this is the quickest way they could think of. Especially with Ajax reportedly interested in him, it would have made more sense to negotiate with them on a possible sale or swap deal.
Considering his relationship with Lionel Messi, it’s unlikely this move is going to go down well with the Argentine.
Suarez is the first player to be told that he’s no longer needed but he won’t be the last. Players like Ivan Rakitic, Arturo Vidal and Samuel Umtiti will probably be told the same sooner rather than later.
The next few weeks are going to be crucial for Ronald Koeman as he looks to shape his Barcelona team. The board, who are already under tremendous scrutiny, are going to need to be prepared for the ramifications that will undoubtedly be headed their way.