Suárez: "Neymar did everything he could to come back"

Luis Suarez says Neymar did everything he could to force a return to Barcelona this summer, only to see Paris Saint-Germai reject all of the Catalan club's advances. 

Suarez remains good friends with Neymar, who quit Barça for PSG in 2017. The two still have a Whatsapp group along with Lionel Messi in which they speak occasionally. 

There wasn't much conversation as negotiations were carried out, though, Suarez says, as they wanted to give the Brazilian some space. 

"We were speaking [in the group] from time to time, but not so much recently," the Uruguayan forward explained in an interview with Fox Sports. 

"Now a little bit more because it's calmed down. It's been difficult because Ney was going through a complicated moment so we wanted to respect his time and space."

Suarez, 32, added that he has no anger towards Neymar for leaving Barça two years ago as he made the decision which he thought was best -- just like now he feels it's best to return to Camp Nou.  

"We spoke with Neymar when he first wanted to leave [Barcelona]," he said. "Everyone knew he wanted to leave. [Me and Leo] said to him that he will not have a better club or [more chance to win] prizes than here.

"But he made his decision. At that moment, he decided what was for the best for him. Now, his decision was to try and do everything he could to come back." 

Ansu Fati 

Suarez also spoke about Ansu Fati, the 16-year-old who became the youngest La Liga scorer in Barca's history when he netted against Osasuna last weekend.

"Ansu came to train one day before his debut and immediately what caught our attention was the confidence he had to step up to the challenge," Suarez explained. 

"It surprised us given his age. The older players have to support him so that he keeps on doing what he's doing and doesn't change his way of playing.

"Obviously you're inclined to look at him in special way, but we try to joke with him so that he feels more comfortable."