Luis Suarez: Barcelona say they have signed Liverpool striker
- Published
Luis Suarez is now "100%" a Barcelona player, the Spanish club has said.
A £75m deal was agreed last week for the Liverpool striker.
The La Liga runners-up are not able to present Suarez to their fans as the Uruguayan, 27, is serving a four-month ban from football-related activity for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini during the World Cup.
"He is 100% a member of the club," Barca director of sport Andoni Zubizarreta told a news conference.
The striker will be ineligible to play for the La Liga runners-up or even to train with his team-mates until late October, unless the appeal lodged with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) is successful.
Zubizarreta believes the former Ajax forward will be a "positive" acquisition.
"We accept people here, imperfections and all," he said. "I am sure Luis Suarez will be someone positive for us in the future."
Suarez's ban was the biggest in World Cup history, eclipsing the eight-game suspension given to Italy's Mauro Tassotti for elbowing Spain's Luis Enrique - now Barca boss - in 1994.
Luis Suarez controversies | |
---|---|
June 2014 | Banned for four months from any football-related activity, plus nine international matches, for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini |
April 2013 | Apologises for biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic and receives a 10-game ban |
Dec 2011 | Given eight-match suspension and fined £40,000 for racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra |
Nov 2010 | Given seven-match ban for biting PSV Eindhoven's Otman Bakkal on the shoulder while playing for Ajax |
"That Luis Suarez will not have been able to train for four months does not alter our plans because we always knew it," Enrique said at a news conference.
"It's bad that he's not with us from the start, but it's not a tragedy. Someone else will play.
"Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Neymar - coaches want to have the best players and the more, the better."
Suarez, last season's Premier League top-scorer, signed for Liverpool, external from Ajax in January 2011 for £22.7m and had four years left on his contract at Anfield.
When he is eventually eligible to play again, Suarez is expected to wear the number nine shirt in a forward line that includes both Argentine Messi and Brazilian Neymar.
The club is looking to rebuild under Enrique, who was appointed in May, after failing to win a major trophy last season for the first time in six years.
If the transfer fee is confirmed at £75m, it will be the third largest in football history.
Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo, external cost Real Madrid £86m and £80m respectively.
Barcelona have been told by football's world governing body Fifa that, under the terms of the ban, they will not be able to publicly unveil Suarez, as they have done with previous signings.
It was estimated that about 90,000 fans were in the Nou Camp for Neymar's presentation in June 2013.
Meanwhile, Barcelona have allowed 22-year-old forward Cristian Tello to join Portuguese side Porto on a two-year loan deal.
Porto have the option to buy the Spain international at the end of the loan spell, while Barcelona can recall him after one season.
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