Madrid (AFP)

The end of an era at Barça: after Ivan Rakitic and Arturo Vidal, it is the Uruguayan superstar Luis Suarez, great friend and associate of Lionel Messi since 2014, who leaves FC Barcelona to join a direct competitor in La Liga: the Atlético Madrid.

The highly contested president Josep Maria Bartomeu had promised "profound changes" in the workforce?

Here they are.

The Uruguayan international striker (33 years old, 113 caps) is the fifth FC Barcelona cador to leave the club in the offseason as part of the vast FC Barcelona reconstruction project.

After Arthur at the end of June (Juventus), Rakitic at the beginning of September (Sevilla FC), then Vidal (Inter Milan) on Tuesday and Nelson Semedo (Wolverhampton) on Wednesday, it is therefore Suarez, one of the pillars of Barça for six years, who is leaving the ship, four days before Barça's entry into contention in La Liga (Sunday at 19:00 GMT against Villarreal).

And it is Atlético which recovers a world-class center-forward.

Admittedly, he seems less efficient than in his great years (Suarez won two Golden Shoes for European top scorer in 2014 and 2016) ... But he still remains effective, with a 2019-2020 exercise completed at 21 goals and 12 assists in 36 matches for Barça in all competitions.

The operation is perfect for the "Colchoneros" who therefore loaned Alvaro Morata on Tuesday to Juventus Turin to then recruit the Uruguayan, committing to pay up to 6 million euros in variable elements to Barça to buy the last one Suarez's year of contract in Catalonia.

This makes the Madrid club an even more likely spoilsport in the usual duel between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona in La Liga: despite a year of transition, Diego Simeone's men still managed to finish on the podium in July (3rd) and to hang a quarter-final of the Champions League (defeated by Leipzig, 2-1).

- Reunion in November -

And it's a great way out for Suarez: since the new FC Barcelona coach, Ronald Koeman, told the player he was not counting on him, the latter was looking for a new destination.

The Uruguayan was once expected at Juventus, to the point of passing an Italian language exam in order to obtain the passport of this country.

This could lead to prosecution, an investigation having been opened for a potential fraud during this ordeal.

Suarez therefore remains in Spain and his first meeting against Barça de Koeman, scheduled for the weekend of 21-22 November for the 10th day of La Liga, promises to be electric.

Lionel Messi's sidekick upon his arrival in Catalonia from Liverpool for more than EUR 80 million in 2014, Suarez quickly became a figure of the Blaugrana club.

The Uruguayan, known for his aggressiveness which has often earned him flirting with the rules (voluntary hand at the 2010 World Cup, bite from an opponent at the 2014 World Cup), has settled down to form the formidable attacking trio " MSN "with Messi and Neymar between 2014 and 2017. He ended up becoming the third top scorer in Barça history (198 goals), behind the untouchable Messi and the legendary César Rodriguez.

- Barça, reduced payroll -

It remains to be seen how the player, not spared by injuries in recent seasons, will comply with the demands of intensity and self-sacrifice advocated by Diego Simeone.

On the Barça side, the reconstruction promised by the leaders after the resounding European slap suffered in August against Bayern Munich (8-2) gives Barça a chance to reduce its very heavy payroll (EUR 542 million in 2018-2019) and to rejuvenate an aging workforce.

In total, during the summer transfer window, Barça has already pocketed around 125 M EUR, according to the specialized press, and has spent "only" 103 M EUR for the moment, to afford Pedri, Matheus Fernandes, Trincao and Miralem Pjanic, in addition to the free loan return from Philippe Coutinho.

For all these players, it will be necessary to forget the aggressiveness and the goals of Suarez, whose transfer leaves a little more orphan Lionel Messi, reluctantly remained in Catalonia after the soap opera of his true-false start.

© 2020 AFP