Barcelona manager, Ronald Koeman has said that it wasn’t his decision that saw the exit of Luis Suarez from the club.

Suarez who still had one year left in his contract with Barcelona was told to leave, a decision which has been criticized by captain Lionel Messi.

The 33-year-old Uruguayan has now signed with Atletico Madrid after a move to Juventus failed.

Speaking before a La Liga game against Villarreal, Koeman said that the decision for Suarez to leave was taken by the club before he got signed as manager.

“It seems I’m the bad guy in this movie. But that’s not the case.

“I have shown respect to Luis – the player and the person – from day one. I always said it would be tough to give him minutes but that if he stayed he would be part of the squad. I told the club that as well.

“But it was a decision made by the club. Before I came in as the coach, the club had already made decisions to change things. There are young players here. It wasn’t a decision made by me alone, but also by the club,” Koeman said.