On Wednesday Barcelona confirmed that the $128 million deal to sign Luis Suarez from Liverpool had been completed.
Now, they have to watch their prized asset hang around until November as Suarez is banned from any soccer related activity for four months.
Oh yeah...
Suarez, 27, was handed the hefty ban by FIFA after he bit the shoulder of Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini during the World Cup group stage on June 24. He hasn’t played since, as his third bite on an opposition player during his career enraged the soccer world and resulted in this lengthy ban, which many felt could have easily been longer.
Barcelona confirmed on Wednesday that Suarez was “100 percent a Barcelona player” despite the Uruguayan not being present for his own unveiling. Under the terms of his ban, Suarez was not allowed to be paraded as a Barca player.
New manager Luis Enrique and director of football Andoni Zubizarreta instead answered the questions, with the latter confirming the deal and when asked if Suarez’s ban would be appealed against by the Catalan club, he had the following to say.
Barcelona must now decide whether or not it is worth launching an appeal with the court of arbitration for sport (CAS) against Suarez’s ban.
If their appeal is successful, Suarez will be allowed to train and play with his new team. However, the talented yet troubled forward, plus the Uruguayan FA, have already had appeals rejected by FIFA as they tried to overturn the ban. Launching an appeal with CAS will be Barcelona’s final chance at getting Suarez back before November.
Let’s see how Barca handled this as Suarez is now officially their player, and their problem.