Luis Suarez has come out in defence of his close friend and former team-mate Lionel Messi, following the recent leaking of the Barcelona superstar's astronomical contract.
In a hugely awkward moment for Messi, the Barca talisman recently saw the full terms of his eye-watering deal at the Nou Camp revealed to the public via the Spanish media.
It is a embarrassing episode for both player and club and a situation which has led manager Ronald Koeman to insist whoever is responsible must be sacked, and now Suarez has had his say on the situation.
The Uruguayan told Onda Cero: 'I was surprised to read Messi's contract in the press.
'I don't understand that there are people who have so much evil. What Barcelona is today is thanks to Leo.'
Suarez's comments come in the aftermath of his recent backing of Messi, and insistence that the Argentine ace will retire whenever he wants and completely dictate his own future in football.
Suarez told El Transistor: 'He is [playing] at a spectacular level, he is the best in the world.
'Messi will retire wherever he wants, he can decide whether it's at Barcelona, in Argentina or wherever.'
Suarez himself was one of the victims of Barca's recent struggles, after being forced out of the Nou Camp in the summer as the Catalan giants tried desperately to cut an inflated wage bill.
A move to Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid has seen Suarez continue his deadly form in Spanish football, currently sitting top of the goal-scoring charts in La Liga as a result.
Suarez currently has a remarkable 14 goals and two assists in 16 appearances this season, putting him two goals ahead of Messi and Sevilla's Youssef En-Nesyri in joint-second.
Recentl reports have suggested that Messi remains seething by the fact somebody inside Barcelona has allowed his contract to become public, and is now in the process of taking strong legal action.
The significant leak revealed that the combination of fixed salary, image rights, variables and tax Barcelona will have to pay on the contract amounts to €555,237,619 (£492m) over its duration.
Messi and his camp have been left incensed by the leak of such confidential financial data and Catalan radio show RAC1 report that the player is now looking into legal action.
The report explains that Messi and his team believe only five people at Barcelona had access to his contractual information.
The five men in question are former president Josep Maria Bartomeu; former vice-president, Jordi Mestre; CEO Òscar Grau; interim president, Carles Tusquets; and the head of the club's legal services, Romàn Gómez Ponti.