Football
ESPN staff 10y

Barca, Liverpool hold Luis Suarez talks

Liverpool and Barcelona have held "productive talks" over the potential transfer of striker Luis Suarez, and further discussions are planned.

Reds chief executive Ian Ayre met officials from the Catalan club on Wednesday as Barcelona made their opening move in their bid to take the Uruguay international to the Nou Camp.

Initial dialogue appears to have been positive and it is seen as a significant step forward, with another meeting scheduled to take place to continue the negotiations.

"The talks were productive, with sensible expectations on both sides," a Liverpool source told Press Association Sport. "Further talks and discussions will take place in due course. Nothing is finalised as of now."

Barcelona manager Luis Enrique has requested the club add Suarez, who is believed to have a verbal, gentleman's agreement with the Catalans, according to AS.com.

Liverpool were adamant before negotiations began that they would not sell Suarez for less than the value of his confidential buy-out clause, believed to be anywhere between 70 and 80 million pounds.

The club are confident after Wednesday's discussions that a deal can be done in line with their valuation.

Barcelona have the option of offering Chile forward Alexis Sanchez as a makeweight in negotiations and it is understood at this stage negotiations are taking place considering both options: a straight money deal and also the option of a player-plus-cash alternative.

The latter would seem more likely, but that depends on Sanchez, with reports in Spain saying he is not that keen at this point on a move to England.

Suarez is currently banned for four months for biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup.

However, following the 27-year-old striker's apology -- which Barca are thought to have had a major influence in procuring -- the Spanish side have stepped up the charm offensive as they began to lay the foundations for a move.

On Tuesday, sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta spoke in complimentary tones, praising Suarez's apology and suggesting "he has the necessary quality to play for Barca," and the club then followed that up with a request for a meeting with Ayre.

Suarez's FIFA suspension from all football-related activities means he would not make his debut for Barcelona until the end of October, and it was expected they would use that as a negotiating tool, but, with Liverpool insistently sticking to the high-value buy-out clause inserted in Suarez's new 200,000 pounds-a-week contract he signed in December, it appears the Catalans have little room to manoeuvre.

Last summer, Arsenal failed in their attempts to sign Suarez after a bid of 40,000,001 pounds was made in the mistaken assumption that would trigger his release, when it actually only entitled them to begin negotiations.

Since then, Liverpool have moved to make Suarez's contract situation more definitive in terms of the price of his release.

Information from Press Association was used in this report.

^ Back to Top ^