Spanish newspaper Marca report that Juventus are one step away from signing Barcelona striker Luis Suarez with an agreement having been reached with the club.
The 33-year-old Uruguayan has been closely linked with a move to Turin in recent weeks as a replacement for Gonzalo Higuain.
Marca now report that Lionel Messi’s decision to remain at Barca had fuelled speculation that this may mean a stay for Suarez too, but he is in fact preparing to leave the club.
According to the report, Suarezs’ future is almost certainly with Juventus having reached an agreement on personal terms with the club on a two-year contract with an option for the third, agreeing a salary of €10 million a season, net.
Marca also suggest that the biggest issue now is for Suarez to free himself of his deal with Barca as he understands that he could be entitled to receive the salary for the two years that remain on his, but he is willing to give up the second year in order to facilitate a move.
For their part, Barcelona are not making it easy and are defending their interests: on the one hand, they are considering paying Suarez a year’s worth of his contract, but on the other hand, they are hoping to agree a nominal fee from Juve, similar to what the agreed in the move that took Ivan Rakitic back to Sevilla.
This aspect of the deal is reportedly important to the Blaugrana, as they want to include performance related bonuses, depending on how Juve do in Serie A and the Champions League.