Barcelona star Luis Suarez left Liverpool because he was 'tired of criticism' from UK media

Barcelona star Luis Suarez says he left Liverpool in the summer of 2014 to move to the Camp Nou for around £65m ($96m) because he was tired of being mistreated by the English press during his time at Anfield.

The Uruguay international was the joint-top goalscorer in the European leagues last season, alongside Ballon D'or winner Cristiano Ronaldo, netting 31 goals in 33 Premier League appearances.

But even though the Barcelona star conquered the Kop, he was not loved by the British press, and believes he was victimised over the racism incident with Manchester United left-back Patrice Evra and for the biting incidents involving Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic and Italy international Giorgio Chiellini.

Suarez was once again scrutinised after Barcelona beat Manchester City 2-1 on 25 February, when some reports suggested the striker attempted to bite City defender Martin Demichelis in the 92nd minute of the game even though images showed that was not the case.

Suarez has refused to claim there was a campaign against him but admitted the British press was the main reason behind his departure from Anfield.

"I don't know if there is a campaign of the English press toward me, but it can be seen that they miss me. They criticise me so much that they look for something that is not there to draw attention. They published images of me [playing next to Demichelis] in the morning and when they saw that that was false those images disappeared off the pages," he said to BEin Sport.

"I said enough, and that they leave me alone, and that I left [Liverpool] because I was tired of them, but yet they are still looking [for me]."

Even though he initially struggled to replicate his Liverpool goal tally during his first months at the Camp Nou, Suarez has recently displayed his talent at the Catalan side, scoring five goals in his last five La Liga appearances and a brace against City in the Champions League.

"I am very happy at Barça, I fulfilled a dream to play at the best club in the world and now I am enjoying it. I am contributing things to the team and that leaves me calmer and makes me feel important," he said.

"There came a time in which I created chances to score and missed them, but that did not worry for me. I am very self-critical with myself above all when I saw that I was not helping the team both in good work and with assists and goals. But when I didn't score and I helped the team and I felt important, well, there I remained very calm."

"The family are very happy in Barcelona and enjoying a city that we knew. The children are in the school and my wife is very happy."