'Suarez will fit Simeone's style perfectly' - Rivaldo disagrees with Barcelona's decision to offload Uruguayan

Luiz Suarez will fit Diego Simeone's style of play "perfectly", according to Rivaldo, who believes Barcelona made a mistake in allowing the Uruguayan to leave the club.

Atleti snapped up Suarez for the bargain price of €6 million  from Barca on Friday, tying him down to a two-year contract.

The 33-year-old had spent the previous six years of his career at Camp Nou, scoring 198 goals across 283 outings while getting his hands on four La Liga titles and the Champions League, but was deemed surplus to requirements by new Blaugrana boss Ronald Koeman.

Barca talisman and six-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi, who pushed for a move away from the club himself before performing a U-turn at the start of the month, openly criticised the board for forcing Suarez out in an impassioned farewell message on social media.

"It will be strange to see you in another shirt and much more to come up against you on the pitch," Messi wrote on Instagram. "You deserved a farewell that fit with who you are: one of the most important players in the history of the club. Someone who achieved great things for the team and on an individual level.

"You did not deserve for them to throw you out like they did. But the truth is that at this stage nothing surprises me anymore."

Rivaldo also believes Barca have made a mistake by allowing Suarez to leave, and expects him to adjust to life at Wanda Metropolitano quickly under Simeone.

"Luis Suarez has made an excellent decision in signing for Atletico Madrid," the ex-Barca star told Betfair . "I wanted him to stay at Barcelona and still felt he had a lot to offer. But Ronald Koeman made clear the Uruguayan was surplus to requirements and he has joined a club where he will be appreciated.

"I hope that things work out well for Suarez at Atleti because I'm a fan of the player that shouldn't have left Barcelona. He is the third-best goalscorer in the club's history and I can only see his age as a reason for the club's decision to let him go.

"He is a great fighter and he has signed for the perfect club. I'm sure Diego Simeone is delighted to have such player in his squad. The Argentinian boss will be a fan of Suarez's qualities that perfectly suit Simeone's style of play.

"Suarez is a great signing for Atletico. A terrific goalscorer, a big fighter and a player of huge experience in big games."

Rivaldo went on to insist that Barca will have to bring in a replacement for Suarez before the transfer window closes, with it his belief that Antoine Griezmann cannot fill the void left by the Uruguayan's departure on his own.

He added: "It looks like Antoine Griezmann will play centre forward in Barcelona's La Liga opener against Villarreal this weekend. We don't know how it will work, but even if the team starts well, they need to sign a new striker.

"It won't be easy for Barca without Suarez's goals but Koeman should have a plan for a new system that means the Uruguayan won't be missed. After all, it was Koeman's decision to let Suarez leave."