After being the undisputed star at Liverpool over the past few years, Luis Suarez suffered new club Barcelona initially as he wasna t quite accustomed to playing in a team with a host of world class footballers.
Suarez, who was banned from playing any sort of football in his early months at Barca, has said that he second guessed himself and tried to curb his natural instinct in his early days at the club.
The Uruguayan was moved to Spain for a staggering a 88 million and has admitted that he found life quite difficult at the start of his time at Barca.
“Against Barcelona, most of the teams sit deep,” Suarez told Kicker. “That was something I had to get used to, even though I am used to the physical battle as a striker.
“But there’s little space for my game here. It’s more difficult than at Liverpool. Barca’s style was a whole new world for me.
“My instincts as a striker were fine from the start but I did not know how to act on the pitch. At first, I did not want to be seen as a selfish player so I thought: ‘What will the other guys say to me?’
“So I ended up passing the ball instead of shooting. Over the course of time I dared to shoot again. But I know that I must respect Barca’s playing style here.”
When asked if there is a pact at Barcelona to make sure Lionel Messi beats Cristiano Ronaldo to become the leaguea s top scorer, Suarez was amused.
“That’s a weird thing to say,” he added. “Messi has even said to me after games: ‘I thought that you were going to score yourself, that’s why I was not ready for the pass.’
“We offer our excuses a lot when we haven’t passed the ball.”
One of Suareza main reasons for a move to Barca was the fact that he wanted to reunite with Sofia Balbi – his wife who he had started dating when he was just 15.
“Barcelona is the city that took away the woman of my life,” he explained. “We suffered a lot and thought that we would only live there together when I ended my career.
“It’s a dream that we are here with our kids right now. That’s what we always wanted.”