Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu admits they first made contact with Luis Suarez at Liverpool before the World Cup.
Bartomeu last night revealed they had been talking to Suarez long before that - even though the striker himself had said before the end of last season that he would be staying at Anfield.
The revelations could now lead to accusations of "tapping up" as Bartomeu said: "When we approached Suarez, it was before the World Cup.
"We told him that he had the right age. He had the experience. Playing at Liverpool give him incredible performance. And it was the right time for him to come to our club.
"We knew from a lot of years ago that Luis Suarez likes our club, our city. And we have the advantage.
"His agent is Pep Guardiola's brother. He's from Barca in his heart, so everything was perfect and created the perfect atmosphere. We know that he had better offers than ours - but he came to Barcelona.""
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