Bartomeu Backs down, Luis Suarez closer to Atletico Madrid

After a heated meeting at Camp Nou, Josep Maria Bartomeu backed down and Luis Suarez edges closer to an Atletico Madrid transfer.

The whole saga between Luis Suarez and Atletico Madrid has been nothing short of entertaining. Just yesterday, the player made the decision to become a Colchonero without leaving a single penny at FC Barcelona. The agreement was reached between Diego Simeone’s team and the striker for two years and €9 million per-season.

After that, criticism came pouring down Barcelona’s headquarters from the club’s associates and the supporters. They couldn’t believe they were experiencing another David Villa situation and they demanded answers from president Bartomeu.

The Blaugranas’ chairman attempted to block the negotiations between Suarez and Atletico during Tuesday’s early hours. His plan was to deny the player his wish because he would effectively make a direct rival stronger. Luis was outraged by the latest chess move from the president and sent his lawyers to negotiate.

👕 Luis Suárez vestirá la camsieta del Atlético de Madrid.

💰 El club rojiblanco no paga traspaso pero sí abonara determinadas cantidades por objetivos
— Diario AS (@diarioas) September 22, 2020

Bartomeu meets with Suarez’s lawyers.

During the afternoon, there was a meeting held at Camp Nou between Luis Suarez’s representatives and Bartomeu. The club’s president didn’t seem like he would give up on his attempt to block the transfer. However, something happened at that meeting that made him back down from his initial attack.

After the meeting was over, the same terms from before remained and Luis Suarez will be an Atletico Madrid player in the next hours. There hasn’t been any information about the meeting yet. But it sure is interesting to know what was said. The only different negotiation that Bartomeu reached was an agreement to get Barcelona paid for add-ons in case Suarez wins titles in Madrid.

Luis will remain with the initial €9 million per-season deal and the add-ons could reach up to €3 million per-season. Now that the agreement has been reached, we are only waiting for the official announcement as Diario AS reports.