Luis Suarez has admitted that he felt dejected and hurt after Barcelona metaphorically ‘kicked him out’ of the team during the transfer window.

Suarez converted a 39th-minute penalty against Chile to kick off Uruguay’s 2022 Qatar qualification run. The 33-year-old striker during the post-match interview said that the last few days had been hard for him.

After having scored 198 goals for Barcelona over five seasons, Suarez left Camp Nou third on the list of all-time scorers. Four La Liga titles, four domestic cups and a Champions League (2015) title weren’t enough to convince Ronald Koeman of the striker’s efficiency as the Dutch manager took no time to get rid of him.

Also Read: Trump administration hits 18 countries with $2 billion tariffs on aluminium

However, with Atletico Madrid now, the No.9 says he is willing to spend some quality time at the field. Diego Simeone’s concerns over namesake Costa drove Wanda Metropolitan to go for Suarez. The former Liverpool striker repaid the manager’s trust in him by scoring a brace under 20 minutes on debut against Granada.

Referring to his conversation with Koeman, Luis said,“ There were other ways to tell me that they wanted to change things. The way it was done and the feeling that they’re kicking you out is what hurt the most. Those days were really hard. I cried because of everything I was going through.”

Lionel Messi also publically stood up for his fellow striker last month during the transfer process. The Argentine, who himself expressed his desire to move out of the club lamented the management, targetting Josep Maria Bartomeu about the handling of such prolific players. “Nothing surprises me anymore,” Messi said.

Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez’s duo has lead Barcelona since 2015. Accompanied by Neymar for a while, the three formed the most formidable attacking line in Europe. However, like Suarez added, the cycle came to an end, Neymar moved to Paris and now it is his turn to make name with a different side.

“I didn’t take the message well from the club that I had to go, more than anything because of the way they handled it, because you have to accept when a cycle comes to an end.The way the club went about it wasn’t good and that annoyed Leo too,” Suarez said.

“He knows what we’ve been through and how tough it was for us at that moment. I am not surprised he supported me in public because I know him so well. I knew the pain he felt.”

Lionel Messi also scored a penalty against Ecuador, to start off the Argentine campaign with some positivity.

Also Read: Some Chennai Super Kings batsmen think it’s a government job: Virender Sehwag

“There are things that people don’t know, but going to Barcelona training and being sent to train on your own because you’re not involved in the 11 against 11 game they’re playing.My wife saw how sad and dejected I was. What I wanted was to laugh and be happy on the pitch again and I had no doubts when the possibility of signing Atletico came up,” Luis added in the final segment.