Luis Suarez felt he was disrespected by Barcelona.
The 34-year old striker is the club’s second-highest goalscorer of all time and moved to Atletico Madrid in the summer.
He had one year left on his contract but new coach Ronald Koeman admitted that he was not part of his plans and allowed him to leave the club to join Atletico for £5.5m.
“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: “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 Bartomeu. My lawyer took care of that.
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