FC Barcelona is in total disarray at the moment after the firing of sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta and the resignation of his assistant Carles Puyol earlier this week and reports out of Spain suggest that Luis Suarez’s future at the club is in doubt after his £75 million move from Liverpool in the summer.
Suarez missed the first two months of the season due to suspension and is under pressure to rediscover his goal-scoring form as he has scored just three goals in 12 games since his move from Anfield in the summer.
Barca coach Luis Enrique, who is battling to save his job at the club after falling out with Lionel Messi, has played Suarez in various roles up front, but the trio of Messi, Suarez and Neymar have yet to click.
Barcelona have been decisive in the past with top players and sent Zlatan Ibrahimovic on loan to AC Milan when he failed to settle into Pep Guardiola’s side after his £50m move from Inter.
Although Barcelona have no intention of selling Suarez yet, he could be the fall guy in the summer under a new regime at the Nou Camp.
Suarez’s position at the club will be complicated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision to uphold FIFA’s one-year transfer ban for illegal approaches to under-age players, which means they cannot replace him yet until the summer of 2016 realistically.
But with the turmoil that is surrounding the Camp Nou at the moment, it would not be a surprise that if a new regime takes over in the summer, that Suarez, a Zubizarreta signing, is made the scapegoat for all Barca’s ills. And if that happens, Arsenal, Manchester City, Man United and Chelsea will all be lining up to take the former Liverpool star back to the Premier League.
