Luis Suarez is set to leave Barcelona and reports said the striker has agreed on a three-year deal with Juventus. But before the transfer can proceed, the Uruguayan star will need to settle two things - get his official release from Camp Nou and obtain an Italian passport.
The first has got to do with Suarez's existing deal with the La Liga giants. For the 33-year-old to win his clearance from Barca, his contract must be terminated, which for the Catalans will mean payment of around £13 million to the departing player.
Since Barcelona's current cash flow is not as good as in previous seasons, it has been suggested that a compromise between Suarez and the club be agreed upon. And the most possible solution is the reduction of the fee that the player is entitled too.
If that can be arranged, Goal said the Barca star should be ready to make the switch this summer. It is understood that Suarez has accepted an offer made by the Old Lady. He will be getting an estimated £9 million per year on a deal that will run for three seasons.
The done deal will be the culmination of Juventus boss Andrea Pirlo's active pursuit of Suarez in recent days following the revelation that new Barcelona Ronald Koeman intends to offload the Camp Nou veteran. Pirlo plans to pair the forward to Juve superstar Ronaldo Cristiano for a lethal combination on the Turin club's front.
And Juventus' confidence in Suarez is standing on solid ground. The star had to deal with injury issues last season but he still managed to play in 36 Barcelona games in all competitions and scored 21 goals.
Pirlo is optimistic that Suarez can do the same wearing the Juventus shirt over the course of his projected stay in Italy.
However, the star suiting up for Juventus in the upcoming campaign will need to hurdle first one last obstacle. The Sun reported that for Suarez's agreement with the Italians to get the seal of approval, he has to secure a passport issued by the Italian government.
That's because the Serie A champions have reached the quota that allows them to sign non-European players. So for Suarez to qualify, he will need to apply for an Italian passport and take the required language examination.
But the good thing for Suarez, since his wife is an Italian citizen, he will only need to sit on an intermediate level of test that is deemed easier. Yet according to the same report from The Sun, this process will mean that Suarez's switch from Barcelona to Juventus could be delayed up to the last day of the summer transfer window.
The transfer market will close on October 5, meaning the new Juventus signing could miss the initial Serie A matches of his squad, the first of which is set on September 21.
