Luis Suarez claims he will never bite an opponent again and has revealed he is receiving professional psychiatric help.
Speaking publicly for the first time since his summer move from Liverpool, the Uruguayan confessed to suffering from depression since being hit with a four-month ban for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini during the World Cup.
However, he repeatedly stated that he is not prepared to discuss his chequered past in any detail.
“I am speaking to the right professionals,” he said. “But it is a private matter and I don’t want to comment further. I had some days when I was very depressed and I didn’t feel like doing anything. I spoke to my psychologist and he said I had to face it and say sorry.
“I did and now I would rather focus on the present, which is Barcelona. I can tell fans I won’t do that anymore, but I don’t like to look back and everything is forgotten.
“If I spent time worrying about the past, I wouldn’t be able to sleep.”
Suarez was also keen to win over his new fans by forcefully stating his excitement about moving to Barca, which he claimed has been “a dream since I was a kid.”
His first appearance in a Barca shirt came with a brief run-out as a late substitute in Monday’s 6-0 friendly victory over Club Leon, but despite the underwhelming circumstances Suarez said it was a memorable occasion. “It was a sensational and spectacular feeling,” he said. “I’d never played in the Nou Camp before and I still don’t believe it.”
When Suarez finally returns to competitive action following his four-month ban, he is in line to make his competitive debut against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on the last weekend of October.
“There is a long way to go until then,” he added. “I need to train hard and work and everything is up to the coach. I am focused on training and this has happened to me before, last year in Liverpool when I couldn’t play until September.”
Manager Luis Enrique now has the welcome but puzzling problem of deciding how Suarez can fit into a forward line already containing fellow South Americans Lionel Messi and Neymar, and the Uruguayan insisted he will be happy to fit in wherever he is asked to play.
“Last season at Liverpool I played on the wings because Daniel Sturridge was the number nine,” he said. “I’m ready to play anywhere in the attack.”
