Luis Suarez to join Atletico Madrid amid Italian citizenship test probe

FC Barcelona has reportedly agreed to sell Luis Suarez to their La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid. It's clear that Barca isn't interested in keeping Suarez in the lineup. In fact, reports claim that the Catalans were initially looking forward to releasing him for free, provided he did not join certain top clubs.

Recently, the 33-year old Uruguayan was linked to Serie A side Juventus, but his deal didn't go as planned due to passport issues. As a result, he has agreed on a reduced salary with Atletico Madrid.

Barcelona chairman Josep Maria Bartomeu was reluctant to let Suarez join a Spanish rival. Hence, he had initially blocked the deal. But, following a meeting with Suarez' representatives, the Catalan club has now backed down from its decision.

BBC reports that the Uruguayan striker has threatened to disclose his grievances to the media. This might be the main reason why Bartomeu eventually agreed to his move to Atletico.

As it stands, Atletico will pay Barca a nominal amount of 4 million euros (£ 3.68 million) for the 33-year-old. Now, Suarez will earn half of what he earned a year when he was at Barcelona.

The recent move puts an end to Suarez' six-year career with Barca. During his time at Camp Nou, he played 283 matches and scored 198 goals. He even formed the most feared attacking trinity alongside Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr.

He joined Barcelona from Liverpool for £74 million in 2014 and helped the Catalans win four La Liga titles, four Copas del Rey, one Champions League, and the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup. However, recently, Suarez has not been anywhere close to his potential.

With Suarez's move to Atletico, one of this summer's longest-running transfer sagas comes to an end. The Uruguayan was very close to ending up in Turin, where Cristiano Ronaldo would have been his teammate. But his move to Italy won't happen now, as Juventus said it would take a lot of time to secure Suarez an Italian passport.

As we speak, the Italian authorities are investigating "irregularities" involved in the Uruguayan footballer's Italian citizenship test. The 33-year old striker took the exam last week but the Perugia prosecutor's office claimed that the player allegedly knew about subjects to be given in the test before he took it.