Bartomeu drooling over Barca strikeforce

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu is drooling at the prospect of seeing Luis Suarez team up with Lionel Messi and Neymar next season.

The Liga giants announced on Friday that they had reached an agreement with Liverpool for the transfer of Suarez, who will put pen to paper on a five-year deal after undergoing a medical at Camp Nou next week.

Suarez enjoyed a scintillating season in the Premier League last term, scoring 31 goals in just 33 appearances as the Anfield club went agonisingly close to winning the title.

The Uruguay star has since been banned for four months by FIFA for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup last month, but the fact he cannot play until late October failed to dissuade Barca from spending a reported £75million to acquire his services.

Suarez’s arrival in Catalunya is expected to see him form a mouthwatering all-South American strikeforce with Messi and Neymar – and Bartomeu cannot wait to see that trio in action.

“It is incredible to join those three players in the same club,” he told Sky Sports.

“It’s something fantastic and something unusual. It’s unusual in the world of football to have three top players plus [Andres] Iniesta, plus [Sergio] Busquets, plus [Gerard] Pique, plus [Javier] Mascherano and the young ones that are coming – it’s incredible to have this team.”

There had been some speculation that the decision to sign Suarez was taken at boardroom level and without the say-so of new Barca coach Luis Enrique.

However, while admitting discussions about bringing the 27-year-old to Spain began prior to the new manager’s appointment, Bartomeu insisted he was consulted over the transfer.

“Suarez is one of the best strikers in the world and at the end of last season and during the season Andoni Zubizarreta, our sporting director, started to think we had to bring a striker to our club,” he added.

“Luis Suarez was on the table and our new coach Luis Enrique, when he signed, we explained everything quickly and he said ‘of course you can bring Luis Suarez to our club, bring him – he’s a fantastic player’.”