Luis Suarez reveals the conversation with Koeman that led to his Barca exit

Luis Suarez-Atletico Madrid

The Uruguayan international has finally opened up on the phone conversation with Ronald Koeman prior to his exit from Barcelona. 

Atletico Madrid striker Luis Suarez has finally opened up on the phone conversation with Ronald Koeman that led to his departure from Barcelona.

The Uruguayan parted ways with the Catalan giants last year after he was deemed surplus to requirements.

Upon taking charge at the Nou Camp, it was widely reported that manager Ronald Koeman informed Suarez that he wouldn’t be in his plans.

The former Liverpool star has revealed that the phone conversation with the Dutch manager lasted only for 40 seconds, and he was completely unhappy with the way the club showed him the exit door.

In an interview with Gerard Romero on Twitch via Marca, Suarez said: “The call from Koeman to tell me that [I wasn’t in his plans] lasted 40 seconds. It’s not the way to say goodbye to a legend.”

In hindsight, Barca must be regretting the mistake of selling Suarez to Atletico Madrid, with whom he won the La Liga title last season.

The 34-year-old was also on target during Atletico’s 2-0 over Barca last week, and his phone-call celebration was allegedly aimed at Koeman, who was in the stands due to the touchline suspension.

The Blaugrana have struggled to find a replacement for Suarez since his departure, and the exits of Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann in the summer window deepened their woes.

However, Suarez recommended his international teammate and Benfica striker, Darwin Nunez, to the Catalan club.

The Atletico star said: “When he[Darwin Nunez] was at Almeria, I said it at Barca. They asked me, and I said ‘look after this guy, he’s very interesting, but they said no, he’s at Almeria, he’s very young. But instead of paying now 80, 90, or 100 million, they would have paid 15 or 20.”

Nunez is now being considered as one of the top young strikers in Europe after his rapid rise at Benfica. The irony is he netted a double in Benfica’s 3-0 win over Barca in the Champions League last week.

Nunez is one of the most in-demand strikers at the moment, with Premier League giants like Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool keeping tabs on him.