Barca hails Suarez’s ‘humility’ amid buzz
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A BARCELONA official yesterday praised Luis Suarez’s “humility” in apologizing for biting a rival in a World Cup match, following reports the Spanish club wants to sign the Uruguay striker.
Despite the furore over the incident that saw Suarez sent home from the World Cup, Spanish media had reported Barcelona was still ready to buy him from Liverpool on condition he apologize for biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini. Suarez did so in a Twitter message on Monday, admitting the bite for the first time and promising he would not do it again.
“Suarez has had the character and the humility to acknowledge his mistake. That is important,” Barcelona’s sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta told a news conference yesterday. “That’s the starting point for a person’s recovery process.”
Suarez bit Chiellini on June 24 in the 1-0 win over Italy which took Uruguay into the World Cup last 16 where it lost to Colombia on Sunday.
Four-month ban
Suarez was handed a four-month ban from all football activities and suspended from nine international matches.
It was the third time in his career he had been guilty of biting an opponent.
Barcelona’s new coach Luis Enrique is overhauling the squad after a disappointing season in which it narrowly failed to defend its Spanish league title.
Zubizarreta was speaking at a news conference to present Croatian midfielder Ivan Rakitic, whom the Catalan club has bought from Sevilla on a five-year contract.
He declined to comment on the prospect of the club signing him, however. “Luis Suarez is an excellent player and everyone knows it. But everyone also knows that he is a Liverpool player.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool has completed the signing of Adam Lallana after the England and Southampton midfielder underwent a club medical yesterday.
The transfer fee for the 26-year-old midfielder is said to be around 25 million pounds (US$42.9 million) and he will be on a five-year contract.
Lallana is Brendan Rodgers’ third signing of the summer following his Southampton teammate Rickie Lambert and Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Emre Can.
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