Jordi Alba fumes over Luis Suarez "joke" after Barcelona's La Liga failure

Jordi Alba has lamented the decision to let Luis Suarez leave after the Uruguayan won La Liga with Atletico Madrid.

Barcelona fell short in the Spanish title race, finishing third behind both Madrid outfits.

Former Catalan president Josep Maria Bartomeu allowed Suarez to leave the Nou Camp in the summer - a decision that raised plenty of eyebrows.

It would ultimately come back to haunt Barcelona as the 34-year-old 21 times to help Diego Simeone's side again conquer La Liga.

Alba, 12 months on from Suarez's departure, has labelled the decision a "joke" and questioned how the club thought they could ever replace him.

He said: "Luis gave a lot to the Barça, gave him to a direct rival like the Athletic and finish with the League... It seems me of joke. It did not like me. Further of the friendship that joined us, where go to find a forward like him?"

Suarez has since opened up on his Barcelona departure.

"It's tough. The situation I had to live through, the way I was looked down on, but Atletico opened the door for me," he said, according to Marca.

"A lot of people have suffered with me - my wife, my children. Day by day, they are the ones who have suffered the most from my many years in football.

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"We've had a great year. Despite the difficulties, we were the most consistent team and we're the champions.

"In the first half of the season we had an efficiency that wasn't normal."

Bartomeu has stuck by his decision to sell Suarez however insisting the squad needed fresh faces.

He said previously: "We had to rejuvenate the squad and change certain dynamics. This led to the sale of key players, whom I want to thank again today for their contribution.

"We brought young Barça B and talents to the first team for the future."

With Joan Laporta now in charge and Ronald Koeman at the helm the Catalans are again looking to reshape their squad.

Sergio Aguero and Eric Garcia have arrived on free transfers from Manchester City.

Memphis Depay could soon join them from Lyon but Georginio Wijnaldum has received a lucrative offer from PSG.