Suarez was told by new Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman last month that he was not part of his plans
Thursday 24 September 2020 09:22, UK
Atletico Madrid are set to sign striker Luis Suarez from La Liga rivals Barcelona after the two clubs reached an agreement for a £5.5m deal.
Suarez, 33, had one more year to run on the contract he signed with Barca in 2016 - but was told by new coach Ronald Koeman last month that he was not part of his plans.
"FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have reached an agreement for the transfer of the player Luis Suarez," read a statement on Barca's official website. "The Madrid club will pay FC Barcelona 6m euros in variables.
"FC Barcelona would like to publicly express their gratitude to Luis Suarez for his commitment and dedication and wishes him all the best for the future.
"On Thursday 24 September from 12.30pm CEST there will be a farewell event for the player and following that a remote press conference. You can see all the day's event surrounding the Uruguayan striker's goodbye live on Barça TV+, FC Barcelona's official digital streaming platform."
It was thought Suarez was close to agreeing terms with Italian champions Juventus but delays in obtaining Italian citizenship put the brakes on a potential deal.
Italian financial police and the Perugia public prosecutor's office have opened an investigation into allegations of irregularities regarding Suarez's citizenship exam last week.
It is alleged that Suarez was aware of the contents of the exam before taking it, and that his score was pre-assigned.
Juve could not recruit Suarez without an Italian passport because they have already reached their quota for non-EU players.
The Serie A champions signed Alvaro Morata on a season loan from Atletico on Tuesday, with Juve set to pay Atletico an initial loan fee of €10m (£9.2m).
The deal for Morata, who spent two season at Juventus from 2014 to 2016, gives the Serie A champions the option to extend the loan for an additional 12 months, plus the option to buy.
If Juventus take up the option to buy the former Chelsea and Real Madrid striker at the end of this season he will cost €45m.
However, if they opt to extend the loan for an additional year, Juventus would have to pay an extra €10m with the transfer fee at the end of that period subsequently costing €35m.
The summer transfer window closes at 11pm on Monday October 5 with a feast of activity lined up on Transfer Deadline Day on Sky Sports News and across our Sky Sports platforms.
A domestic-only window for deals between the Premier League and EFL then runs from October 5 and closes on Friday October 16 at 5pm. Follow all the news and analysis on SSN and across Sky Sports' digital platforms, including with our dedicated Transfer Centre blog.
