Barcelona consult lawyers over whether to appeal against Luis Suárez’s ban

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Barcelona say they are still consulting their lawyers about whether to appeal to the court of arbitration for sport over Luis Suárez’s ban from all football.

Suárez was conspicuous by his absence on the day he officially became “100%” a Barcelona player.

The Uruguay striker arrived in the Catalan city on Tuesday to complete the formalities of his reported £75m transfer from Liverpool but because of his four-month Fifa ban from all football-related activity after biting the shoulder of Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup, he could not be formally unveiled at the Camp Nou on Wednesday morning.

It therefore fell to the new Barça coach Luís Enrique and the director of football Andoni Zubizarreta to answer questions about the club’s latest big-money signing who will be ineligible to play for the club – or even to train with his team-mates –unless any appeal lodged with Cas is successful.

When asked if Barça were making moves to reduce the length of the ban, Zubizarreta said: “Luis Suárez is a Barcelona player for all purposes but the recommendation from our lawyers has been to remain discreet.

“Our lawyers tell us that we should be very prudent with what we say and your question is asking about something that could only happen after certain verdicts have been reached. Then we’ll be able to explain things better. But it’s fact, it’s true. He’s 100% a member of the club.

“We’re speaking to our lawyers to find out the best way of defending his rights but at the moment there’s nothing I can say about that.”

Whether or not Suárez is allowed to make his debut ahead of schedule, the fact he is now securely under contract gives Enrique one less headache.

The former Spain midfielder, who has coached Barça’s B team and more recently Roma and Celta Vigo, has already started shaking up his squad.

Cesc Fábregas and Alexis Sánchez have been sold, the goalkeepers Víctor Valdés and José Manuel Pinto have been released, while Carles Puyol’s decision to retire leaves Enrique light on options in defence.

He has signed the Croatian playmaker Ivan Rakitic, Suárez and the goalkeepers Marc-André ter Stegen and Claudio Bravo but Barça remain frustrated in their search for a high-profile centre-back.

“We’re working on that at the moment,” Zubizarreta added. “We thought we were going to have four centre-backs because we thought Puyol would be with us but he’s not and we have to cover that position. Obviously, we’re working on buying players and we’re hoping to announce a centre-back soon.

“About 90% of clubs in Europe have the same problem, it’s a position everyone is working on. We’re working in the market and we haven’t come to a definitive decision on some players we were hoping to sign.

“The only high-profile centre-back that’s been signed is David Luiz, who has moved to Paris Saint-Germain. It’s not easy to find centre-backs who are better than the ones we’ve got and if we could find them then we would sign them.”

Enrique, who will soon welcome World Cup Golden Ball winner Lionel Messi back to training, is happy with the work the board has already done to bolster his options and understands the frustrations of the transfer market.

“I know I’ve got a good group of players including one of the best players in the world,” he said. “My objective is to get the best out of all the players in my squad. All managers want to have the best players that they possibly can.

“When I joined Barça I knew what players we had and we’ve been strengthening and I’m really happy. My target is to put a team together that is as competitive as possible.”

Enrique, 44, is also working to persuade the veteran midfielder Xavi to remain at the club amid reports he could be tempted to move to Major League Soccer or to the Middle East in pursuit of a new challenge.

“Yes I’ve spoken to Xavi and it’s a matter that hasn’t been decided yet,” Enrique said. “He has a contract with the club and we’re waiting to see what decision he comes to. He’s a player for whom I have a lot of respect.”

guardian.com