Opinion: Luis Suarez signing could make Atletico Madrid the La Liga favourites

It’s now official. Luis Suarez, after spending the last six years at Barcelona, has joined rivals Atletico Madrid.

The 33-year-old was emotional when he said his goodbyes to his teammates, but the truth is Atletico looks to have better prospects than his former club.

The Rojiblancos have achieved massive success with Diego Simeone as manager. They have won almost everything; La Liga, Copa del Rey, Europa League and the UEFA Super Cup. Only the Champions League has eluded them.

However, Luis Suarez could be the final piece to seal that elusive European crown. The Uruguayan has nothing to prove, having scored many goals during his stints at Ajax, Liverpool and Barcelona.

Suarez provided something that Atletico Madrid have lacked for some time now

He scored 198 times for the Blaugrana, becoming the third top-scorer in the club’s history. Luis Suarez also remains the only footballer to have beaten Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to the European Golden Shoe twice.

Luis Suarez offers Atletico much-needed goals

Atletico are already a strong side and the only thing they’ve lacked in recent years is a lethal striker. Not since the days of Radamel Falcao have they had a 25-goal striker in the team.

Last season they had Diego Costa and Alvaro Morata, but neither really came to the party. With Suarez, the club can is guaranteed a lot of goals this season.

The Rojiblancos’ main rivals for the league are Real Madrid and Barcelona, but both teams are not whom they used to be.

Barcelona have sold a number of first team players but haven’t yet replaced them, leaving a thin squad.

Suarez departed Barcelona as a legend and he is still a quality striker

Real Madrid are equally lacking depth and quality, having sold James Rodriguez to Everton and loaned Gareth Bale to Tottenham Hotspur.

Zinedine Zidane’s side started their opening La Liga game with inexperienced players like Rodrigo Goes and Martin Odegaard in the line-up.

With all that is going on at Real and Barca, Atletico have a huge opportunity to capture La Liga. The signing of Luis Suarez may have made them immediate favourites for the title.