'I still agree' - Koeman explains Barcelona's Suarez transfer decision

The FC Barcelona manager gave a realistic assessment of the club’s decision to sell Suarez to a direct rival in LaLiga.

Ronald Koeman conceded it would’ve been better for Barcelona had Luis Suarez joined Juventus instead of Atletico Madrid, but he stands by the club’s decision to sanction the striker’s exit.

Suarez had a remarkable six-year stint at Camp Nou. He became Barcelona’s joint-second highest goalscorer of all-time, alongside Cesar Rodriguez, on 195 goals in 283 appearances and won 13 major honors.

Despite his accomplishments, Barcelona offloaded Suarez shortly after Koeman’s appointment as manager last summer. The Uruguayan appeared on the brink of a surprise move to Juventus. However, amid an alleged cheating scandal in a language test to obtain Italian citizenship, the transfer collapsed.

Suarez then signed a two-year contract with Atletico and his goal-laden exploits in the Spanish capital have helped Diego Simeone’s men move 10 points above Barcelona at the top of LaLiga with a game in hand.

“It’s part of your job,” Blaugrana manager Koeman told The Athletic of Suarez’s summer exit.

“You speak to the club — and when I came as a coach to Barcelona, we had our opinions and I had the information out of the club — and then finally you make decisions.

“You need to make these decisions because if it goes well then it’s OK, but if it doesn’t go well, then it needs to be my way and that’s the most important thing.

“We are changing and of course, it would have been better that Luis Suarez signed for Juventus instead of Atletico Madrid because he’s still in the Spanish league.

“But that kind of decision, we had to make it, really tough ones but showing respect to the player, and I think that’s really important. And I still agree with what we did at that time.”