Luis Suarez Reveals The One Thing That Would Make Lionel Messi Stay At Barcelona

Luis Suarez has insisted that the only way Lionel Messi could remain at Barcelona is if the Spanish club's board is replaced.

Barcelona captain Messi, 33, stunned the world when he handed in a shock transfer request in the summer and began a tug-of-war battle with the club over his future.

The Argentine superstar was heavily linked with Manchester City and argued that his end-of-season release clause -- where he could leave the club for free -- was still active.

Messi confirmed that he would remain at Barcelona for another season after refusing to take the club to court over the disputed contract clause.

However, the six-time Ballon d'Or winner has since launched a scathing attack on Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu and hit out at the board over their treatment of Suarez.

Suarez, 33, signed for Atletico Madrid last month after Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman informed him he was not part of his plans at the club.

The Uruguayan striker has now opened up about his close relationship with Messi and the Argentina captain's desire to leave the Camp Nou.

"Out of respect for the relationship I have with Leo, I'm not going to say what we talked about at the time, but he lived through a difficult and complicated situation," Suarez told ESPN.

"He wanted to leave and the club did not want him to. I tried to support him, take care of him and distract him a little.

"I think they [Barcelona] wanted to get me away from Messi's side, perhaps it bothered them that I have a good relationship with Leo.

"Maybe they wanted him not to be with me so much."

Suarez, who was famously part of Barca's 'MSN' trio with Messi and Neymar, has ruled out the idea that the club were especially harsh on him due to the Argentine wanting to leave Barcelona.

However, the Atletico star believes that Messi could remain at Barcelona beyond the current campaign should they make important changes at the top of the club's hierarchy.

"That Messi wanted to leave Barcelona was not a gesture towards me. They should have respected his decision to leave," Suarez explained.

"There may be the possibility that Messi plays for another club, but if he feels comfortable, happy again and another board arrives, he will want to continue at the club.

"As a friend, I'll be happy if he does well there and if he has to go to another club, I'll be happy too."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Football News, Football, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, La Liga, Barca

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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