Jeffren reveals who was responsible for his departure from Barça: "It screwed up my career"

If there was a player in the recent history of FC Barcelona who promised a lot and ended up being little or nothing, that was Jeffren Suárez. Yes, that Spanish-Venezuelan remembered for having scored the fifth goal in the historic manita of Barça against Real Madrid at the Camp Nou on November 29, 2010.

That unforgettable goal, however, was nothing more than a flash in a professional career marked by irregularity, injuries and a premature end that removed him from the Blaugrana team in 2011.

Years later, already retired from professional football —he hung up his boots in 2024 after a last experience at Chiangmai United of Thailand—, the former winger returned to link with the Catalan team. Not as a player, of course, but as a guest on the podcast Helado Oscuro, where he reviewed his time with the first team and left several striking statements.

📌 TEAMS IN WHICH JEFFREN SUÁREZ PLAYED:

1. FC Barcelona: 2009-2011
2. Sporting CP: 2011-2014
3. Real Valladolid: 2014-2015
4. Kas Eupen: 2015-2017
5. Grasshoppers: 2017-2019
6. AEK Larnaca: 2019
7. Slaven Belupo: 2020-2021
8. Al-Dhaid: 2021
9. Lamphun Warrior: 2021-2023
10. Chiangmai United: 2023-2024

Jeffren reveals who supported him in the Barcelona dressing room

The Ciudad Bolívar native began by recalling how his integration into the first team of Barça as a youth player was. "The greats treated you very well and made you feel comfortable from day one. One thing they do very well is that they always take great care of the youth academy, even the players who come from outside," he emphasized.

He also highlighted those who supported him the most in his low moments: "If you ask me what a team is, that was a team. Dani Alves, Puyol and Xavi were the ones who treated me best when I was bad. They told me: 'Don't worry, Jeff, this will pass'"

Zubizarreta's role and the painful departure from the Blaugrana club

The former player acknowledged that the injuries were the determining factor for his farewell to the Blaugrana team:

"The injuries were the reason why I left Barcelona and, with that issue, the club turned its back on me"

But the real blow came when he explained who was responsible for closing his cycle at the Camp Nou. "It wasn't Guardiola, but Zubizarreta —sports director at that time— who screwed up my career. I had an offer from Valencia and he closed the doors to me in Spain. When clubs came from abroad, they asked for between 3 and 4 million euros, but if it was a Spanish one, it was around 5. Since then I can't even look at him," he revealed.

Also, about his final conversation with Pep Guardiola, Suárez was clear. "It was a mutual decision between him and me. The talk was tough. He told me that if I stayed, I wasn't going to play because they were going to sign Alexis Sánchez. Even so, Pep always had a lot of affection for me. Years later I met him in Qatar, when he was managing Bayern, and he told me: 'You are the fastest player I have ever had', and he gave me a hug. I'll stick with that," he said.

Messi, the silent leader of the culé dressing room

When it was his turn to talk about Lionel Messi, Jeffren did not skimp on praise: "Guardiola was the one who moved the rods, but the one who did everything was the little one, and we all followed him. If we were going to war, the first ones were Puyol and him, and behind we were going"

Likewise, Suárez showed an anecdote about the training sessions. "You couldn't touch Messi and there were many problems with that, because many who came from the subsidiary went strong... If you were part of his circle you could joke about that, but if not..."

Jeffren's message for Barça about Lamine Yamal

To close, the former player left a valuable advice to FC Barcelona in relation to Lamine Yamal, the new jewel of the youth academy: "He is 18 years old and it is normal that he does not know the consequences of his actions, but you have to catch him, because if you don't catch him in time... forget it. But I think Barça will do things right," he concluded.