Barcelona change course with regards to Luis Suarez

Barcelona seemingly shut the door on Suarez exit to Atletico Madrid.

The saga surrounding Barcelona and Luis Suarez has taken another turn as the player’s move to Atletico Madrid has been put on hold.

Despite reports that a deal was all but done, club president Josep Maria Bartomeu stepped in to put a stop to it. A move that has left the Uruguayan striker fuming.

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According to ESPN, Suarez is furious at the club for stopping the move and is considering holding a press conference with his lawyers and speak on his situation.

Bartomeu stopped the deal from going through because he did not want to let Suarez leave on a free if it meant joining Atletico Madrid. He does not want to strengthen a direct rival.

What makes his decision more interesting is that he might have only become aware of the Suarez to Atletico deal from reading it in the press.

What’s more is that apparently in the deal between Suarez and Barcelona, there is a list of top European sides that he could not go to. Originally, Atletico Madrid was not on the list. However, when Bartomeu stepped in, he asked for Atletico to be put on the list.

Suarez finds himself entangled in a new controversy.

The bad news for Suarez does not end there as there is controversy with regards to the citizenship test he took Italy.

According to Sport, Italian police are investigating irregularities surrounding the exam and the believe that he got the answers ahead of time. The test usually takes a couple of hours to be completed and Suarez was able to finish it in only 30 minutes.

This is going to be ongoing process but it adds more salt to the wounds as taking the exam proved futile in the end as his move to Juventus ultimately fell apart.

It has not been a good summer for Suarez who was one of the players singled out by the president that needed to be moved if Barcelona were going to start their rebuilding process.

Early in Ronald Koeman’s tenure, the Barça manager informed him that he did not count on him. He has since changed his tune somewhat but only because it looked like the club wouldn’t be able to find a suitor for Suarez.

Atletico Madrid are still favorites to land him but Suarez and his representatives need to come to an agreement with the Catalan side first. Also, it is unknown as to whether or not this latest scandal will have an dissuade Atletico from signing him.

For now, Suarez is back training with the team. The next couple of days may be key in deciding his future. If he does hold a press conference with his lawyers, he will be the second player to publicly air his frustrations with the board after Lionel Messi.