Luis Suarez reveals turning down Real Madrid to sign for Barcelona

Barcelona striker Luis Suarez has revealed he spurned the advances of Real Madrid in order to make his “dream” move to Barcelona.

After completing his reported £75 million move from Liverpool, Suarez had to wait until October to make his Barcelona debut, due to his FIFA-imposed four-month ban for biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini during last summer’s World Cup in Brazil.

After initially playing the role of provider at his new club, the striker has been in scintillating form for Barcelona over the past few months.

During an interview with the Spanish radio program El partido de las 12, the former Liverpool striker was asked if he hadn’t signed for Barcelona, would he have played for Real Madrid?

Suarez revealed that Real Madrid were “very interested” in signing him, but his “dream” was always to play for Barcelona.

“You never know what will happen in football, but luck would have it that Barcelona knocked on my door, and that was the club I wanted,” Suarez said.

“It was a dream that I had for many years and it came true.

“Real Madrid were very interested in me, but my dream was always to play for Barca. When I heard the name ‘Barcelona’, I didn’t hesitate for a moment.”

Suarez was then asked if playing alongside Lionel Messi and Neymar lessened his chances of scoring goals?

“No, quite the opposite. For me it is a privilege; it makes like easier for me, because in the other teams I have played in I felt an enormous responsibility,” the Uruguayan said. “Being surrounded by such great players is a weight off.”

Barcelona are currently leading La Liga by four points over Real Madrid, and have advanced to the Champions League quarter-finals, as well as the Copa del Rey final. There is talk around the club about the team winning three titles this season.

However, Suarez has refused to get drawn into that conversation. While the striker admitted being aware of the talk of multiple titles, he stressed it’s not a topic of conversation between his teammates and himself.

“No, we don’t talk about winning all three in the dressing room,” Suarez concluded. “But there is talk that we are able to do so.”

Barcelona are now preparing for what could be a season-defining stretch of fixtures beginning with a trip to fifth-place Sevilla on Saturday.

Following that match, they will meet Paris Saint-Germain over two legs of their Champions League quarter-final, with a match against fourth-place Valencia sandwiched between those games.

Programming note: Sevilla vs. Barcelona will be shown LIVE on Saturday starting at 1:55pm EST on beIN SPORTS and fuboTV.