Barcelona and Celta Vigo complete the signing of midfielder, Denis Suarez.
Denis Suarez has put an end to his Barcelona career and has completed a move to his boyhood club, Celta Vigo. The Galician side teased his signing on social media and ultimately confirmed the move.
https://twitter.com/RCCelta/status/1145435611664400384
According to Sport, Celta agreed to pay Barcelona an initial fee of €12.9 million with €3.1 in variables bringing his potential fee to €16 million.
It is a bit of a coming home for Denis Suarez who began his career in Celta Vigo’s academy before making a move to Manchester City back in 2011. He spent a few years there before signing with Barcelona in 2013.
His career at Barcelona has been a mixed bag as he was loaned out to Sevilla when he joined the club. After Sevilla, he was sold to Villarreal where he arguably enjoyed the best time of his career. His performances at Villarreal where what convinced Barcelona to bring him back in the first place.
But he never got much of an opportunity under Luis Enrique or Ernesto Valverde. On the occasions he did, he flattered to deceive. One theory as to why he rarely played had to do with a clause in his contract that Barcelona and Manchester City agreed to. The clause stated that Barcelona had to pay City €800,000 for every ten appearances. It certainly did not help his case.
He was loaned out to Arsenal this past season but that move did not work out either as he carried an injury early on that only got worse. It prevented him from completing training sessions let alone getting into a rhythm. It came as no surprise when Arsenal did not take up the option to buy him on a permanent basis.
The prevailing rumor this off-season was that he would be heading to Valencia as their manager, Marcelino, was heavily interested in him. Denis was also keen on the move because he was the manager when he was at Villarreal and called him the best manager he’s ever worked with. In the end, Valencia did not want to pay what Barcelona wanted and would rather give a chance to some of their academy players.
While his Barcelona career did not go as he would have hoped, Denis Suarez did have a few memorable contributions. The one he’s most likely to be remembered for is his goal against Getafe in Ernesto Valverde’s first season as manager. It tied the game which Barcelona went on to make a comeback and win.
Denis Suarez now gets an opportunity to go back to where it all started and get his career back on track.