Lionel Messi dedicated his goal celebration against Villarreal to Luis Suarez after his Barcelona departure.
The six-time Ballon d'Or winner opened his account for the season with a penalty in the 4-0 win at the Nou Camp, but made sure to give to a nod to Suarez.
Messi celebrated with a passionate arm flex and fist pump in the same way Suarez regularly reacts after finding the net, with Gerard Romero from RAC1 claiming the Argentine promised to honour his friend if he was on the scoresheet.
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Suarez struck twice on his Atletico Madrid debut in a 6-1 thumping of Granada and he too performed his trademark celebration.
Messi, who wanted to leave the Blaugrana himself before reluctantly agreeing to stay, has been incredibly vocal about the Barcelona board's treatment of their third-highest goalscorer.
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Messi's farewell message to Suarez on Instagram saw him rip into the club and prompted responses from the likes of Neymar, Dani Alves and even Suarez himself.
Messi wrote: "You deserved a send off for what you are: one of the most important players in the club's history, achieving important things both as a group and individually. And not to get kicked out like they did. But the truth is that at this point nothing surprises me."
Reacting to Messi's social media post, manager Ronald Koeman claimed the decision to offload Suarez was not his call.
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"It's normal for him to be upset about the fact a great friend has left," Koeman said, as per Metro.
"'But I have no doubts about Messi. I have seen him train.
"It seemed like I have been the bad guy in this movie and it's not like that. It was the decision of the club. I respect Suarez a lot and wish him all the best at Atlético Madrid."
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Football News, FC Barcelona, Football, Atletico Madrid, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez
