Barcelona Must Give Luis Suarez a New Deal for Equal Status in MSN Attack
Barcelona received a huge boost ahead of the new season when it was confirmed that Neymar had signed a new long-term contract with the club.
A five-year deal protects the club with a huge release fee but more importantly keeps one of the game's top talents wearing Barca's shirt in the forthcoming campaigns. Neymar makes up a third of the devastating attack that has helped Barca win back-to-back La Liga and Copa del Rey titles, as well as the UEFA Champions League in 2014-15 and the FIFA Club World Cup last year.
There's little doubt Neymar's talent and performances last season merited a bumper pay rise, and we've already detailed why and where he needs to improve in the wake of his new deal. But Neymar's deal also leaves the club facing up to the need to offer a similarly huge contract to another part of the triumvirate, Luis Suarez.
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2015-16
Top scorer in La Liga, European Golden Boot winner and our highest-ranked player for the entire season in Spain: Not much more can be said about Luis Suarez's 2015-16 campaign other than he was utterly outstanding.
The 29-year-old was a model of consistency in front of goal after the turn of the year, only once going on a run of three games without finding the back of the net and scoring three hat-tricks—twice netting four, in fact—in the last five games of the season to ensure Barcelona rediscovered form and claimed La Liga's title.
Suarez ended with 40 goals in La Liga in 35 matches—a rate of one every 78.8 minutes, a quite astonishing tally.
Even taking all competitions into account, he still broke the goal-per-game barrier, scoring once every 80.8 minutes and 59 in total.
His work rate remained exemplary, his link play and understanding with his team-mates—not just Neymar and Lionel Messi but Ivan Rakitic, Sergi Roberto and even Munir—improved all season long to the extent that it was often Suarez who was involved in creating the most important goals.
No striker in world football combines every key trait as well as the Uruguayan does. His movement and ability to score from any range with any part of his body make him an unstoppable force in Barca's attack.
Messi, Suarez, Neymar...Iniesta
The Uruguayan forward was the most important and most impressive of all last year yet lags well behind his Neymar and Messi in terms of financial reward at the club.
Marca reported Neymar's new deal to be worth a huge €56 million a year, with Messi just behind on €50 million—but Suarez's deal from when he joined the club from Liverpool sees him earn €16 million, a big figure taken as a standalone salary but less than 30 per cent of Neymar's new deal.
Further reports from the Spanish media outlet cited Messi and Iniesta as the next two big-name players in line for contract renewals, due to their having two years left on their present deals.
Sergio Busquets has already renewed too, while Barca have four of the world's top 10 earners in their squad list, according to Marca.
Luis Enrique's team's success is not simply built on the talent of the front three. The passing approach to dominate games lingers, the midfield technical level is of the highest anywhere in the game and the tactical reliance on full-backs and a high-risk strategy of pressing in certain areas all contribute. But few would argue against this attack being the difference between a great side and potentially one of the finest of all time.
The entire ethos of the South American front line is that the three combine well on the pitch as well as having respect for each other off it, working harmoniously in their roles as creators, finishers and space exploiters.
Messi has, until now, been the undisputed king. He is the world's best player and has been Barcelona's since his professional debut. He is the man around whom the rest of the team is shaped, and Neymar and Suarez accepted that. But Messi's injury and dip in form last year, along with the heights reached by Neymar and Suarez, has changed that.
Neymar's new contract is another factor to take into account: By most reasonable markers, Nos. 10 and 11 are now on par.
Suarez deserves similar status, and Barca cannot risk destabilising their formidable front line by letting him feel less important, less needed, less involved than the others.
Financial battle
There are two possible scenarios here.
The first is that Messi's new contract pushes him slightly above Neymar again, retaining kingpin status. In turn, Suarez could potentially be seen as having a slightly lower worth than the other two—purely in salary terms—thanks to his age of 29 being rather higher than Neymar's 24.
Alternatively, Messi (or his agent, more likely) could demand to be the highest paid by some distance again, meaning Suarez would still need to be around the Neymar level of earning, the two support casts to the one central star.
Both present financial problems, of course: Marca reported the salaries of Neymar and Messi alone to be greater than the entire budget of 15 clubs in La Liga; add a third for Suarez into that realm, and additional revenue streams become a necessity, not a luxury.
The signs are already there that lower spending in other areas will be the norm for now, as the club focus on big contracts. Denis Suarez, confirmed as signed at €3.25 million, per Marca, makes sense, but a fresh investment failure coming to light was reported by Marca which will cost close to €50 million. No shirt sponsorship has yet been approved, the stadium expansion will have a huge cost and the ongoing regeneration of the team every year is already being hit.
All the same, Barcelona cannot overlook the importance of Suarez to the team and his happiness with his status within it.
Suarez deserves his own salary hike, but more importantly, maintaining the balance and appreciation of each other in that front line is the most vital aspect of Barca's team-building process right now. That cannot be jeopardised by having one-third of it valued at less than a third of the other two.
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