They told me I was old and couldn't play at the top level anymore - Luis Suarez on Barca exit
The forward left Barcelona for Atletico Madrid last summer and is the leading goalscorer in Spain with 16 goals.
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Luis Suarez has opened another chapter of his Barcelona-grief saying he was speechless when he was axed from the team for the reason that he cannot play at a higher level anymore.
The 34-year old Uruguayan revealed that he finally decided to leave the Spanish club because the respect he had whiles with the Blaugranas was curtailed and there was no way he could keep playing in such an environment.
"What really annoyed me was being told that I was old and that I couldn't play at the top level anymore, that I couldn't play at the level of a big team. That's what upset me," Suarez explained in an interview with the popular magazine France Football.
"Barcelona kicked me out, they told me they didn't have me in their plans anymore. Another question is if you still have a multi-year contract and the club wants to sell you.
"But the club indicated that they didn't want me anyway. They just didn't want me anymore. I deserved a certain amount of respect."
Suarez is the second-highest goalscorer in the history of the Spanish club with 195 goals in 283 appearances, having spent six years at Camp Nou since his move from Liverpool in 2014.
He is joint leading goalscorer in the Spanish Laliga with Lionel Messi with 16 goals; a proof that his time with Barcelona was not finished as Ronald Koeman’s side trail by eight points behind Atletico Madrid.
"The essential thing is the mind. It is very important to be strong in your head and to feel that you have the means to reverse difficult situations," Suarez explained.
"It has always been one of my characteristics: I never gave up, not even in difficult moments. It's a question of self-esteem.
"After all these years at Barcelona, I wanted to show that I can still be useful at the highest level, within the Spanish elite."
Suarez will feature against the Rojiblancos on Tuesday night at the Wanda Metropolitano against Chelsea in the Champions League. He won the trophy during his first season with Barcelona.
