The time has come to say goodbye to a club legend.
He played 283 games for FC Barcelona in which he scored 198 goals and assisted another 109.
Helped the club win 13 trophies. 4 La Liga titles, 4 Copas del Rey, 1 Champions League, 2 Supercopas, 1 UEFA Supercup and 1 Club World Cup. One treble and two domestic doubles. One of most important players of a squad that dominated Spain and conquered Europe in convincing fashion five years ago.
Became our 3rd best goalscorer in history in less than six years, with only Messi and César ahead of him. Also Barcelona's 3rd best ever when it comes to El Clásico games, scoring probably the decisive goal in the 2015 title race, a couple of braces during two demolitions of the Bernabéu, and a hat trick in another marvelous display at Camp Nou in 2018. The man for the big occasion.
La Liga hasn't had many more productive strikers than him in its entire history, as he approaches the top 20 all time goalscorers, already being the best Uruguayan and seventh best foreigner. With him joining Atlético Madrid, his legacy in our biggest competition will undoubtedly continue to grow.
The 2015 Champions League final in Berlin had a similar trajectory to our 2011 triumph in Wembley. Our opponents' resistance eventually broken in the second half. And what Messi did to Manchester United then, this guy did to Juventus. A decisive second goal that brought a second treble that nobody else achieved yet at that time.
In the modern era that has been dominated by Leo and Cristiano when it comes to all the attacking numbers and contributions, he put a short end to that duopoly, winning the Pichichi as well as the European Golden Shoe for his 40 strikes in 2015-16, after already sharing that individual prize back in 2013-14 when he proved he could it on a cold rainy night in Stoke too.
If you wanted clinical finishing, smart playmaking, brilliant runs, creating space out of nothing, insane technique and moments of genius, this player would be one of the first to fit that profile. Like I said many times before, during his best years he was the undisputed world number one number 9. Watching his highlight reels would never get boring. A beautiful game played beautifully.
Plenty of failed transfers over the last few years for our club, but there is no argument that this was an excellent one. A risk worth taking in the summer of 2014, at the time when his discipline and drama on the pitch were at the lowest point.
Sportsmanship passed away a long time ago with nice guys coming out on top less and less frequently these days, and he was one of the fires we fought other clubs' fires with. Even though I never liked the dark side of him, there is no doubt that it was something that gave opponents an extra problem to deal with. He stood his ground... Other than those occasions when he'd dive.
Professional until the very end, despite being mistreated after everything he has done, knowing for weeks that he has no future in Catalunya, he continued to give his maximum in training without saying a word, unlike some others who were throwing hissy fits during their departures like Arthur.
For me, in the part of the pitch where he operates, El Pistolero stands among the best ever performers in the Blaugrana shirt. Cruyff, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Messi, Neymar and him...
Muchisimas gracias,
Luis Suárez...