Suarez agrees new contract with £167.5m buyout clause

Luis Suarez has agreed a new deal that will see him remain with Barcelona until 30 June, 2021, with a huge buyout clause of €200 million (£167.5m) inserted.

The former Liverpool striker has been prolific since swapping Anfield for the Nou Camp in a deal reported to be worth £75m two and a half years ago, scoring 97 times in 116 matches in all competitions.

The Uruguayan is also part of the much-feared MSN forward line at Barca as he, Lionel Messi and Neymar have been terrorising defences at home and abroad.

Their combination has reaped two league titles, two Copas del Rey, one Champions League, one European Super Cup, one Super Cup and one Club World Cup trophy.

It is therefore little surprise that Suarez, who signed a five-year deal on joining the Catalan giants in 2014, is set to commit himself to another longterm deal at the club.

Barcelona said in a statement: “FC Barcelona announces that they have reached an agreement with Luis Suarez to renew his contract until 30 June 2021. His buyout clause is set at 200 million euros. The new contract will be signed on Friday 16 December at 13:30.”

Barcelona were not dissuaded from paying out a heavy sum in July 2014 for Suarez, who was unable to make his debut until more than three months later due to his ban for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup.

But he has largely avoided the controversy that dogged his time at Liverpool, where he was given lengthy suspensions for an earlier biting offence – this time on Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic – and for being found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra.

Instead, Suarez has let his football do the talking. He really hit his stride last season, with 40 topflight goals in 35 appearances, and has bagged ten La Liga goals in 14 appearances this term.