Barcelona were interested in the signature of Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero before settling for Luis Suarez, revealed their former sporting director Andoni Zubizarretta. Suarez, who has set alight the Camp Nou this season, was not the Blaugranas first choice, after the Catalans were rebuffed by Manchester City in their attempt to sign the Argentine hitman.
Speaking to Spanish newspaper Marca, Zubizarretta revealed Barcelona’s intentions to sign Aguero in 2014, saying “We had some options. The first was not Suarez. He knows it. In winter we considered the signing of Aguero. That did not work out.”
After Manchester City had thwarted the signing of Messi’s national teammate Aguero, Barcelona set their sights on Suarez, and the Uruguayan’s controversial World Cup altercation with Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini, which resulted in a four month ban, potentially threw a spanner in the works.
However, Zubizarretta maintained that the controversy was a blessing in disguise, as other teams that were competing for Suarez’s signature had doubts, allowing Barcelona to pounce, saying “During the negotiation process the incident with Chiellini occurred. The issue created a seed of doubt for other clubs who wanted him. They questioned his character. I thought it was the perfect time to accelerate the process of signing him.”
“I liked everything about him: he was not static, knew his way around the outside of the box and gave us a profile which we did not have. From the outset his willingness to sign for Barca was huge. In this situation, there was no doubt: Luis Suarez was our only goal.”
Suarez relieved with hat-trick against Bilbao
Luis Suarez joined Barcelona in July, 2014; and has thrived in the Catalans’ setup. The Uruguayan has been in sparkling form this season, having scored 29 goals in as many games while assisting 13 goals. However, the striker was a worried man having not scored in three games since the start of the year.
Speaking after Barcelona hammered Athletic Bilbao 6-0, Suarez revealed that he had been the subject of some good-natured ribbing from his Barcelona teammates, saying “Strikers go through streaks. I have to say I have laughed with the team at the chances I've missed in recent games, because normally I score those.”
“Against Athletic I had the chance to score three goals but the important thing is the victory. We have a lot of ambition, La Liga is very difficult and nobody wants to fail.”
