Luis Suarez admits close friend Lionel Messi was deeply hurt and annoyed after seeing him join rivals Atletico Madrid.
It is no secret that Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi enjoyed a close friendship during their six years together at Barcelona.
The Uruguayan forward joined the Catalan giants in 2014 and went on to build a blistering partnership with La Pulga. Not just on the pitch but off it as well.
Such was their relationship that Messi and Suarez arrived for training together while at Barcelona. On a social media, the pair also showed occasional pictures where both players had their families along for a joint dinner.
The Uruguayan forward also scored a handful of goals and went on to be Barca’s third all-time top scorer. Regardless, he was deemed surplus to requirements by new Barca boss Ronald Koeman. He eventually joined rivals Atletico Madrid for a measly £6m.
Messi was not pleased with the club’s treatment of his friend and even voiced out his feelings on social media.
Luis Suarez has now opened up on his ex-teammate’s outburst, saying he can understand his feelings.
“I was not surprised about Messi because I know him too well, I knew the pain he felt, as I did,” he said as quoted by the Express.
“He felt they kicked me out of the club because of the forms. There were other ways to do things correctly with me.”
“They were six long years and that bothered him too. I see him as a friend and he knows how badly we suffered.”
“My family wanted to see me happy. There are some strange things at Barcelona like sending you to train separately because you were not considered for the game…”
“Those kinds of things made me bad and my family saw me affected, so they encouraged me to take the opportunity. When Atletico came looking for me, I didn’t hesitate for a single moment.
“Obviously I have to get used to various things, but I feel very happy at Atletico.”
Suarez scored on international duty for Uruguay as they clinched a 2-1 win over Chile on Thursday night.
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