Updated 13.25
LUIS SUAREZ WILL be presented as Barcelona player next week after Liverpool reached an agreement to sell him to the La Liga giants.
The Uruguayan striker will travel to Spain next week for a medical and to sign a five-year contract in a deal reported to be worth £75 million by the UK media.
Suarez, who is allowed to move despite a four-month FIFA ban for biting Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup, will wear the number nine at the Camp Nou.
The move, he said, is a “lifelong dream” as he thanked Liverpool’s fans for their support.
Reds boss Brendan Rodgers praised the 27-year-old as “a very special talent” but reassured fans: “If there is one thing the history of this great club teaches us, it is that Liverpool FC is bigger than any individual.”
Suarez joined Liverpool from Ajax for £22.8 million in January 2011 and immediately became a Kop favourite.
His 31 goals last season fired the Reds to the brink of their first domestic title in the Premier League era before they were pipped by Manchester City in the final week of the season, and he was named PFA and Football Association Writers Player of the Year.
But his time on Merseyside was shrouded in controversy and he served two lengthy bans after he was found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra and of biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic.
Liverpool often came under fire for the stubborn manner in which they defended their star and in his parting statement today, Suarez thanked the club and fans.
“It is with a heavy heart that I leave Liverpool for a new life and new challenges in Spain. Both me and my family have fallen in love with this club and with the city.
But most of all I have fallen in love with the incredible fans. You have always supported me and we, as a family, will never forget it, we will always be Liverpool supporters.
“I hope you can all understand why I have made this decision. This club did all they could to get me to stay, but playing and living in Spain, where my wife’s family live, is a lifelong dream and ambition. I believe now the timing is right.
“I wish Brendan Rodgers and the team well for the future. The club is in great hands and I’m sure will be successful again next season.
“I am very proud I have played my part in helping to return Liverpool to the elite of the Premier League and in particular back into the Champions League.
Thank you again for some great moments and memories. You’ll Never Walk Alone.
The challenge now for Rodgers is to rebuild a side shorn of its main threat. The Reds have already signed attacking Southampton duo Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert, as well as German midfielder Emre Can.
Serbian winger Lazar Markovic, Belgium’s young World Cup star Divock Origi, and Swansea striker Wilfried Bony have also been linked with Merseyside moves in recent days.
Rodgers immediately assured fans that the team would be stronger next season, despite the loss of Suarez.
“Luis is a very special talent and I thank him for the role he has played in the team in the past two years, during my time at Liverpool.
“I think he would be the first to accept he has improved as a player over that period, along with the team and has benefited from being here, as we have benefited from him.
“The club have done all they can over a sustained period of time to try to keep Luis at Liverpool. It is with great reluctance and following lengthy discussions we have eventually agreed to his wishes to move to Spain for new experiences and challenges. We wish him and his young family well; we will always consider them to be friends.
“We are focused on the future, as we strive to continue with the progress we have made and build on last season’s excellent Barclays Premier League campaign.
“I am confident we will improve the team further and will be stronger for this coming season, when we will be competing on all fronts; domestically and in the greatest club competition in the world, the Champions League.
If there is one thing the history of this great club teaches us, it is that Liverpool FC is bigger than any individual. I hope our supporters continue to dream and believe that we are moving forward and with continued improvement and progression, together we will bring the success we all crave and deserve.
– Originally published 12.40
