Luis Suarez says he was determined to leave Barcelona last summer after being "disrespected" by the club ahead of his acrimonious move to Atletico Madrid.

"It was tough because of the way I was disrespected, but I wanted my children to see me leave the club with my head held high," Suarez told Onda Cero. "When the time came to tell my children about the move, it was very difficult. They're older now and sensed there was going to be a change.

"There were some very tough moments surrounding my departure from Barcelona. There were rumours that were eventually confirmed and that's what hurt me the most."

He added: " (Ronald) Koeman called me and told me I wasn't in his plans. I accepted the decision, but I told him I had a contract and the club would have to sort it out. I was given the option not to show up for pre-season, but I said that I was still under contract and that I was going to show up.

"Nobody explained it to me properly. I didn't get to speak to (Josep Maria )Bartomeu. My lawyer took care of that.

"Seeing how Barcelona are doing does reassure me in some way. I could've stayed put and been paid, but I still believed in my ability. I knew that if I stayed I'd be slated the moment there was a hint of bad form. I needed a change for my pride.

"The first thing I said in terms of negotiations with Atletico was that I didn't want to do anything until I had left Barcelona. There was a lot of talk about Juventus, but plenty of clubs were interested. I kept moving forward with my Italian passport because it was something I'd been doing for a year."