Koeman does not have Luis Suárez

Luis Suárez against Neuer, in the quarterfinals of the Champions League in Lisbon.Rafael Marchante / AP

"There will be no revolution." In the offices of the Ciudad Deportiva del Barcelona they are clear that Ronald Koeman's squad needs a stir, however, as a consequence of the economic context and without too much time to manage signings and transfers, the Barça sports management does not plan to do without half a team . "Some changes will be made," they warned. And they already have some names marked. The first on the list, you already know: Luis Suárez, 33 years old. In an interview with the newspaper El PAÍS, last Friday, the forward stated that he had not yet spoken with Koeman.

This morning, the Dutchman telephoned the Uruguayan, according to the Catalan station RAC1. Koeman told Luis Suárez that he does not count on him for his project. The forward's lawyers will be able to contact Barcelona to agree to the termination of his contract.

Luis Suárez's link with Barcelona expires in June 2021. The contract, in any case, had a clause in which it was automatically renewed until 2022 in relation to the number of games played by the forward. Luis Suárez, along with Griezmann, is in second place on Barcelona's salary scale, behind Lionel Messi. Barcelona needs to reduce the cost of the salary bill (the highest in Europe, 392 million) and the Uruguayan was one of those indicated to leave the club. The idea of ​​the sports management is to dispense with players with higher contracts and whose career in the club is limited. On the list, headed by Luis Suárez, there are also Rakitic (32 years old), Arturo Vidal (33) and Umtiti (26, but with knee problems). There are two cases that are being analyzed: Busquets (32) and Jordi Alba (31).

“Messi is the best player in history but there are other players who are non-transferable. There are many young players: Ter Stegen, Lenglet, De Jong, Semedo, Dembélé, Griezmann. They are footballers we will count on a lot with in the future ”, explained the president of Barcelona, ​​Josep Maria Bartomeu, in an interview last week. “There is talk of some names that the president gave, of changes that can be made, but nobody told me that they want to do without me; If this is the desire of the club, it would be good if the person in charge you choose speaks directly to me. I've been at Barça for six years, enough time to say what they think, ”Luis Suárez analyzed.

Koeman, in his presentation, did not want to reveal any names. “I know there are players of a certain age who may have doubts about performance, I don't, but you have to respect all players. The plan is to find the best for the template. But if decisions have to be made, we will make them. But I don't like to say names out of respect for the players, ”said the Dutchman.

Luis Suárez, the third top scorer in the club's history (198 goals), is one of the first decisions Koeman made with the club. The Uruguayan was confident of ending his contract. “I would accept being a substitute here as I always accepted in my career. Competition is always good and if the coach considers that I should start from the bench, I have no problem helping with the role they give me. I think I can still contribute a lot to this club ”, assured the 9 of Barcelona. The Uruguayan has offers from Ajax and MLS, he must first terminate his contract.