Luis Suarez has struck a deal with Barcelona to leave the club and looks set to join Atletico Madrid, reports claim.
Suarez had agreed personal terms with Barcelona’s La Liga rivals but was struggling to agree terms with his current club in order to leave.
He had originally looked set for a move to Juventus but the deal broke down as Barcelona initially refused to pay the Uruguay international to leave the club, with the Italian giants unable to match his full wage demands.
But, according to Goal, he has now reached a settlement with the Catalan giants that will see him paid to terminate his contract a year early.
An agreement was reached after lengthy talks between Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu and Suarez’s representatives and he is now expected to put pen to paper on an £8million-a-year deal with Diego Simeone’s Atletico.
He will travel to Madrid for a medical and could be in line to make his debut in their La Liga opener against Granada.
Bartomeu was initially against the idea of Suarez joining one of Barcelona’s chief La Liga rivals but has softened his stance.
Suarez, who scored 198 goals in a Barcelona shirt, was told he was not in Ronald Koeman’s plans, with the new Barca manager looking to put his own stamp on the side.
Juventus had seemed the most likely destination but the deal was called off and there are now questions over whether the striker cheated in his Italian citizenship exam.
He will be loaned for an initial 12-month period, with the option of a second year to be added on the loan and the chance to buy him for £40m.
