Suarez joined the Blaugrana for close to €88
million shortly after Uruguay's exit from the
World Cup this summer following a three-and-a-
half-year spell with Liverpool.
Bartomeu has revealed Barca first made contact
with the player prior to the tournament in Brazil
and says the Premier League player of the year
in 2013-14 had received better financial offers
from other clubs.
"Barcelona made first contact with the player
before the World Cup. I told him he was at the
right age and experience to take the plunge," he
told CNN .
"We knew many years ago that Suarez loves our
club, that he loves the city. As such, everything
was perfect to accept Luis Suarez.
"We knew he had better offers, but Suarez
decided to come to Barcelona."
Suarez incurred a four-month ban from football
for biting Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup but
Bartomeu insists the incident did not make them
doubt whether to push through with the deal.
"No, it did not make us reconsider and we told
him that after the incident. He knows it was
wrong, he accepted it was wrong and apologised,
and that was very important for us," he said.
Bartomeu then went on to describe Lionel Messi
as invaluable to Barca due to the example he
sets to other young players at La Masia.
"Messi represents more than goals and trophies.
He represents the spirit of a young player who
arrives at La Masia and grows at our club," he
said.
"The value of Messi to the club is limitless."
Finally, Bartomeu claims he himself learned a
significant amount from former coach Pep
Guardiola and hinted that the current Bayern
Munich boss could be among a number of ex-
Barca players who could consider returning to
the club in the coming years.
"I've learned a lot from Pep Guardiola. He's a
genius. People who carry Barca in their heart
come back to help the club.
"After 2022, many of the players who are here
now, or are at other clubs, will come back as
coaches, sporting directors, presidents because,
at the end of the day, we're one big family."
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