Barcelona have made an important step towards signing Luis Suárez for next season. The 'Azulgrana' club has received a 'yes' from the Uruguayan, who wants to become part of Luis Enrique's team after the summer.
That has been Bartomeu's trump card in securing the player's commitment over interest from other teams, Real Madrid among them. A commitment that includes the potential to put the pressure on at Liverpool in the event that the English club dig their heels in and refuse to compromise on their expectations.
The starting figure for negotiations is 87.5 million - the buy-out clause for Suárez. Barcelona will not stretch to that and is trying to bring the price tag down.
Hence they are considering the possibility of including other players in the deal. There are several contenders, such as Alexis, Pedro, Tello or Song. The 'Azulgrana' club has an extensive list of players who could go. In principle, Barcelona would be willing to spend 60 million.
Suárez earns 10 million at Liverpool, but that would not be a problem because Barcelona is willing to be generous in that respect and he would then become one of their highest paid players.
The negotiation has taken on a new dimension after the Uruguayan took a chunk out of Chiellini. The incident did not go down well at Barcelona, but the club is still moving things forward. Real Madrid, on the other hand, have put the brakes on, now not interested in making a bid for the player in the light of his behaviour.
