‘I felt Messi’s pain’ – Suarez opens up

Luis Suarez has revealed he felt a similar pain to Lionel Messi over his controversial Barcelona exit.

Messi took a swipe at the Catalan giants for their decision to push Suarez out of Camp Nou, who has since linked up with Atletico Madrid.

“You deserved a farewell that fit with who you are: one of the most important players in the history of the club. Someone who achieved great things for the team and on an individual level,” Messi posted on Instagram at the time.

read also:‘Mourinho almost lured Messi to Chelsea’

“You did not deserve for them to throw you out as they did. But the truth is that at this stage nothing surprises me anymore.”

Suarez expected his friend and former team-mate to speak out in such a way and has now admitted he harbours similar feelings over his Barcelona departure.

“I was not surprised about Messi because I know him too well, I knew the pain he felt, as I did,” Suarez said after scoring in Uruguay’s 2-1 win against Chile on Thursday.

“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.”

The 33-year-old enjoyed a fairytale debut for Diego Simeone’s side last month as he scored twice and claimed an assist in his first appearance.

Messi almost joined Mourinho’s Chelsea in 2004 – Di Marzio