La Liga

LUIS SUAREZ has blasted Barcelona for kicking him out in the summer for being ‘too old’.
The Uruguayan, 34, has been a massive success at LaLiga leaders Atletico Madrid since his tearful Nou Camp exit at the end of last season.

Luis Suarez has hit out at Barcelona for how they treated him before he joined Atletico MadridCredit: Getty Images – Getty

Suarez is the division’s top scorer on 16 – but the way the striker’s six-year stint at Barcelona came to an end still leaves a bitter taste in his mouth.
He told France Football: “What really bothered me was when they told me that I was old and that I could no longer play at a high level, be up to [leading] a great team.
“That’s what I did not like. If I hadn’t done anything at a club like Barca for three or four seasons, I would have understood.
“But, every year at Barca, I scored more than 20 goals per season. I have always had good statistics, just behind Leo (Messi).”

What really bothered me was when they told me that I was old and that I could no longer play at a high level
Luis Suarez

“At Barca, circumstances have changed, the club needed changes. And I accepted it. The only thing that bothered me was the way [it happened]. I think I deserved some respect.
“It was a decision that I could not prevent. I felt like I was no longer being counted on, so with my pride I told myself that I was going to continue to show what I am worth.
“This is why the idea of going to Atletico, a competitive team, appealed to me.”
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SunSport previously reported that Suarez could reportedly leave Atletico on a FREE this summer but wants to stay.
And the man himself has claimed he still has years left at the top level amid rumours that the former Liverpool star could retire soon.
Ahead of Atletico’s Champions League clash against Chelsea, Thomas Tuchel tried to sign the Uruguayan for Paris Saint-Germain last year.

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EDEN HAZARD is among the world’s top three footballers, according to Filipe Luis.
The Flamengo defender, formerly of Chelsea, Atletico Madrid and the Brazil national team, believes Hazard ranks alongside Neymar and Lionel Messi.

Eden Hazard greatly impressed Filipe Luis at ChelseaCredit: Getty – Contributor

Brazilian full-back Luis spent one season with the winger at Stamford BridgeCredit: Bongarts – Getty

In a single season at Stamford Bridge, Luis witnessed the Belgian at his scintillating best, winning the 2014-15 Premier League and League Cup.
But he was left feeling that Hazard still could have done more to become the very best player around.
Luis told the Mail: “Eden along with Neymar are the best players I have ever played alongside – up there with Messi.
“He didn’t train well, five minutes before the game he would be playing Mario Kart in the dressing room.

“He would warm-up without tying his bootlaces up.
“But then no one could take the ball off of him. He would dribble past three or four players and win games on his own.
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“Hazard has so much talent.

“Perhaps he lacks a little bit of ambition to say, ‘I am going to be the best player in the world’. Because he could be.”
Many of Luis’ 44 caps for Brazil came alongside Neymar, who led Paris Saint-Germain to last season’s Champions League final.
The left-back, 35, has not played in the same team as Barcelona hero Messi but faced him many times in Spain.

Lionel Messi and Neymar were also placed on Filipe Luis’ podiumCredit: Getty Images – Getty

And he only won three of his 26 encounters with the Catalan giants, losing 13 times and getting sent off twice.
One particularly bruising meeting saw Messi net a hat-trick in a May 2011 win over Atleti, which saw Luis subbed off late on.
The veteran decided not to include Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo in his top three, despite suffering more defeats to Los Blancos (14) than any other side throughout his career.
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JEREMY MATHIEU has slammed the treatment of players at Barcelona, claiming that he was given no support in his last year at the club.
Luis Enrique, in charge during the Frenchman’s Camp Nou stint between 2014 to 2017, ‘did not talk to’ the player during his struggles.

Jeremy Mathieu has criticised the culture of criticism at BarcelonaCredit: AFP or licensors

Barcelona won a Champions League, two LaLiga titles and three Copa del Rey crowns during Mathieu’s time with the club.
But his final season saw him castigated for two poor performances as the Catalans missed out in the league and Europe.
Mathieu, 37, was hooked after 45 minutes of a 2-0 defeat to Malaga that served to end Barcelona’s title hopes.
Three days later, he was again taken off midway through a 3-0 loss at Juventus that knocked them out of the Champions League and became his final appearance for the team.

Huge criticism of the centre-back led to him being outcast inside the club, he has asserted.
Mathieu told Catalan radio station RAC1: “I had a very bad time in my last year with Barcelona.

Mathieu sympathsied with under-fire defender Clement LengletCredit: Getty Images – Getty

Antoine Griezmann’s move to Barcelona was labelled ‘wrong’ by the ex-defenderCredit: AP:Associated Press
“I had the feeling I was blamed for the 3-0 defeat in Turin, but football is played with eleven players, not just one.
“I felt alone in the dressing room.

“No one offered support. For me, that’s not football.”
Mathieu likened his situation in 2017 to that of Clement Lenglet.
The Frenchman was hammered for his performances against Paris Saint-Germain and Cadiz, the latter leaving him in tears as he left the Camp Nou having given away a late penalty.
Retired defender Mathieu added: “Everyone is killing Lenglet now, and I know what that’s like. He has to try and be positive and to turn it around, and try his best.”
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I think Griezmann was wrong to sign for Barcelona.
Jeremy Mathieu

Barcelona look set to end the season without a trophy and Mathieu believes Antoine Griezmann must up his game.
After costing the Blaugrana £105million, the striker’s lack of consistent world-class form led to his countryman’s dour review of the transfer.
He added: “[Griezmann] isn’t at the level he was at Atletico.
“I think he was wrong to sign for Barcelona. At Atletico he was an important part of the team, and I don’t know if he has that place at Barcelona.”
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BARCELONA’S draw with Cadiz left Clement Lenglet in tears as he drove home on Sunday.
The Frenchman was the unfortunate culprit behind the last-minute penalty that made it 1-1 at the Camp Nou.

Clement Lenglet appeared to wipe away tears as he left the Camp Nou

The upset defender had conceded a late penalty to Cadiz on Sunday

In footage posted on TikTok, via Marca, Lenglet appeared to be tentatively hiding his face as he met fans by the stadium exit.
One youngster posed for a selfie through the upset defender’s car window.
Lenglet, 25, has enjoyed a rapid ascent having started his career in Ligue 2 with Nancy before winning promotion and moving to Sevilla in January 2017.
After only 18 months in Andalusia, the centre-back was signed by Barcelona and has been a regular under a number of coaches.

But a late challenge on Cadiz’s Ruben Sobrino conceded an 89th-minute penalty on the weekend, after Lionel Messi’s spot-kick put the Catalans a goal up.
Former Reading midfielder Alex Fernandez, brother of Real Madrid star Nacho, stepped up to convert the penalty for a famous point for the relegation-battling side.
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I don’t know if the defender should risk going for the ball. Maybe not.
Ronald Koeman

The draw left Barcelona fourth and all but out of the LaLiga title race despite Atletico Madrid’s recent slips.

They trail the league leaders by eight points.
Blaugrana boss Ronald Koeman lamented the penalty as well as his side’s performance, which came off the back of a 4-1 hammering at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain.
He told reporters: “I think [the penalty] is questionable, but it can be given.
“I don’t know if the defender should risk going for the ball. Maybe not.”

Lenglet was late in a challenge with Ruben Sobrino to concede the penaltyCredit: AFP OR LICENSORS

Koeman added: “It’s disappointing, these kind of games have to be won and we didn’t do it.
“It’s a big opportunity lost after the Atletico Madrid defeat. It’s a big disappointment. I’m very disappointed, more so than last Tuesday.
“I don’t like to blame the players individually. We weren’t up to the task in attack, and we have to defend differently. In terms of quality, we should have won.”
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BARCELONA presidential candidate Toni Freixa has promised a mega transfer spree if he gets voted in – with Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe targeted.
The Barca fans go to the polls on March 7 to decide who will run the Catalan giants – Freixa, Joan Laporta or Victor Font.

And Freixa tried his latest tactic to attract votes by insisting he would pump £216million into transfers to bolster the squad.
Speaking to radio station RAC-1, Freixa said: “We will have the most competitive squad for the 2021-22 season.
“We will not talk about individual players until we sign them.”
But asked about two of the best forwards in world football, he added: “It is possible to bring in Haaland and Mbappe.”

Mbappe tore Barca to shreds in the Champions League last week with a sublime hat-trick at the Nou Camp.
Haaland, meanwhile, remains in red-hot form for Borussia Dortmund with 27 goals in 25 games this season.
Real Madrid want both players, too, meaning the El Clasico rivals could go head to head for their signatures.
Liverpool have been linked with Mbappe while Haaland is on the wish lists of Chelsea and the two Manchester clubs.

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As well as bringing in two superstar forwards, Freixa suggested two new defensive players would come in.
David Alaba and Eric Garcia, both heavily linked and free agents come the end of the season, could be the best options from a financial perspective – despite Alaba’s £400,000-a-week wage demands.
Those four new signings could give the Barcelona side a complete revamp next season.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen remains the No1 choice in goal with Sergino Dest and Jordi Alba at full-back either side of the new pairing of Garcia and Alaba.
In midfield, there is unlikely to be much change with Sergio Busquets anchoring behind Frenkie de Jong and teenager Pedri.
However, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele may be forced to make way for the fearsome front three of Mbappe, Haaland and Lionel Messi to cause havoc together.
But with Messi’s contract expiring this summer and the new president tasked with convincing him to stay, there is a real chance he will the club leave after 20 years at the end of the season.

Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick against Barcelona in the Champions LeagueCredit: AP:Associated Press

Erling Haaland could be targeted as part of a £216m transfer splurge at the Nou CampCredit: Reuters

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FILIPE LUIS has revealed how he used to stop Lionel Messi during his Atletico Madrid days.
And the Brazilian reckons that his Argentine counterpart ‘liked’ being on the end of his horror tackles.

Luis was shown a straight red card for his January 2016 challenge on MessiCredit: Getty Images – Getty

The Brazilian enjoyed a number of tussles against his Argentine counterpartCredit: Splash News

The former Chelsea full-back, now 35, has admitted his admiration for Messi – the ‘best player’ he has seen play.
But he had an aggressive way of showing it.
He hold the Mail: “One day I would like to ask Messi what it felt like playing against me.
“I approached it as the most important game in my life against him because he was the best player I have seen play.

“Messi had a thing – and I studied him a lot – that was very important. He improvises.
“He doesn’t have the dribble in his mind before the ball gets to him.
“He watches the defender’s movement and depending on your body position, he goes one way or the other. So first I tried not to let him receive the ball.
“When he received with his back to me, there would be a hard challenge and because he’s so strong, so resistant, because he doesn’t go down looking for fouls, the foul is not given away.

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“If he receives the ball facing you, one on one, it’s impossible because of that improvisation he has. You can’t plan for it, because he is watching you and can change.
“I would fake to make one challenge, one side, to try to make him go the other way, where I really wanted him.”
Luis, who now plies his trade for Flamengo after leaving Atletico in 2019, was red carded for a horror tackle on Messi during a 2-1 defeat to Barcelona in January 2016.
He continued: “There were games where I went too far in terms of aggression. I was sent off. But he never had a go at me for it; he never said anything. I think he liked it, I think he liked that kind of challenge.
“In fact Barcelona called me [towards the end of his time at Atletico] so I think he must have liked my football. I’d like to know his opinion one day. My best games were always against Messi, for sure.”
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