"Instead of paying €100 million now, they would have paid 15 or 20" - Luis Suarez claims he advised Barcelona to sign superstar striker earlier

Luis Suarez has revealed that he had asked Barcelona to sign Darwin Nunez when he was at Almeria. However, the club decided not to make the deal happen and the striker ended up joining Benfica.

Barcelona are in a financial crisis and have a lot of issues on the pitch as well. The Catalan giants need a striker and someone like Darwin Nunez would have been ideal for them.

Luis Suarez claims he asked Barcelona to make a deal for Nunez while the striker was still in Spain and it would have cost them around €15-20 million. Now the striker is doing well at Benfica and has a price tag of €100 million.

While speaking on Gerard Romero's Twitch, he said:

"When he was at Almeria, I said it at Barcelona. They asked me, and I said: 'Take care of this one, he has very interesting things'. But they answered: 'No, he's at Almeria, he's very young'. But instead of paying now 80, 90 or €100million, they would have paid 15 or 20."

Barcelona among clubs in race for Darwin Nunez

Darwin Nunez has been doing well at Benfica and several clubs around Europe have been linked with the striker.

His agent Edgardo Lasalvia has confirmed interest from top clubs, with reports suggesting it as Inter Milan, Chelsea, Liverpool and Barcelona.

Lasalvia spoke with FC Inter News last week and said:

"Darwin is ready to play for any team on the planet. Various top-level teams have contacted us but, for the moment, he is concentrating on continuing and growing with Benfica and with the Uruguayan national team. This is how important things will come in the future.

"The important thing is that he is happy now and wants to repay the trust of Benfica and the affection of the people by winning a title. We'll discuss the transfer possibilities with the club executives if necessary, as it should be. For the moment we're calm and happy to see him on the pitch."

Bayern Munich and Manchester City are also said to be interested in signing the striker. The 22-year-old has four goals in six appearances in Liga NOS and two goals in two Champions League games this season.