Soccer Football - Gremio's Luis Suarez Farewell - Aeropuerto Internacional Salgado Filho, Porto Alegre, Brazil - December 8, 2023 Luis Suarez waves to the fans outside the airport REUTERS/Diego Vara/File Photo
(Reuters) -Inter Miami have signed striker Luis Suarez, the Major League Soccer club announced on Friday as the Uruguayan once again teams up with close friend and former Barcelona team mate Lionel Messi.
Suarez has signed a contract for the 2024 season and has also been reunited with former Barca players and treble-winning team mates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, with who they won four LaLiga titles in five years.
The Uruguay international joins Miami from Brazilian side Gremio, where he scored 26 goals and provided 17 assists in all competitions, leading the team to two trophies this year.
"I'm very happy and excited to take on this new challenge with Inter Miami. I can't wait to get started, and I'm ready to work to make the dream of winning more titles with this great club a reality," Suarez said in a statement.
Suarez and Messi were part of the famous Barca attacking trio -- along with Brazilian forward Neymar -- which dominated Spain and Europe in the 2014-15 season when they won LaLiga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League.
Suarez first made a splash in Europe with Ajax Amsterdam before making the switch to Premier League side Liverpool where he scored 82 goals.
But it was at Barcelona where he was most successful when he scored 195 goals and made 113 assists.
When Barca had no more use for him, he made the switch to rivals Atletico Madrid, where he continued to impress and led the team to a LaLiga title.
In all, he has scored more than 500 senior goals for club and country in a career spanning nearly two decades.
"Luis is an outstanding striker with a track record of excellence at the very top levels of the sport," Chief Soccer Officer and Sporting Director Chris Henderson said.
"He has proven himself to be a singular talent in every league he's played in over the course of his career thus far."
Miami won the Leagues Cup in 2023 following Messi's arrival but did not qualify for the MLS Cup playoffs. They kick off the 2024 season on Feb. 21 at home against Real Salt Lake.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Louise Heavens and Christian Radnedge)
