Oscar Tabarez: 'Luis Suarez has improved at Barcelona'

Uruguay boss Oscar Tabarez has claimed that Luis Suarez has improved as a player since joining Barcelona last summer.

The controversial forward swapped Liverpool for Camp Nou last July, and the 28-year-old has scored 19 times in 34 games for the Spanish outfit.

Suarez's positive exploits on the field last season drew a host of admiring glances, but Tabarez believes that the forward has improved in Spain.

"As a player, even though he is not available for his country at the moment, he has grown," Tabarez told El Espectador.

"Barcelona are a team that has employed a rigid system for a long time. Right now Luis is playing up front but before that they tried him out wide and then in the middle, where he had to play in a much reduced space, and he adapted to it.

"When he went to Barca there were some who said he had chosen the wrong team and people rushed into making predictions. However, they don't really know Luis and the mental strength he possesses. He is now a much better player."

Suarez, who has scored 43 goals in 82 games for his country, did not make his Barcelona debut until late October following a four-month ban for a biting incident at the 2014 World Cup.