Luis Suarez’ soccer resume that propelled him to a contract with FC Barcelona in 2014 includes two AFC Ajax Player of the Year awards, one Eredivisie Golden Boot, one Copa America Player of the Tournament, two Liverpool Player of the Year awards, one Premier League Player of the Year award, and a PL Golden Boot Winner among other recognition.

When Suarez joined FCB, he won the 2015-16 La Liga Player of the Year, was the league’s top scorer, and was selected Barcelona Player of the Year; as well, the team won the league that season. The Uruguayan was also on the 2015 and the 2016 UEFA Champions League Team of the Season, Barca won the competition in 2015.

In total, Suarez helped the Blaugrana side win three La Liga titles, four Copa del Rey trophies, two Supercopa de Espana, one UEFA Champions League, one UEFA Super Cup, and one FIFA Club World Cup while scoring 169 goals in 233 appearances in four years.

The forward’s 13 years as a pro was overlooked in three weeks. As of February 22, the striker was out of form for 20 days and wasn’t on target for five straight games, Barca fans weren’t shy to say how discontent they were about Suarez on social media.

Moreover, the club is eagerly looking for a replacement striker. At least six strikers are reportedly on the Spanish champion’s radar. Bundesliga top scorer Luka Jovic, Ligue 1 third top scorer Nicolas Pepe, and Celta Vigo starlet Maxi Gomez are on top of Barca’s wishlist. According to ESPN, Barcelona is also chasing Manchester United protégé Marcus Rashford.

Nevertheless, Barca head coach Ernesto Valverde was hopeful that the 32-year-old would crawl out of his slump before the club’s last match against Sevilla on Saturday.

“In the last two games he has had clear chances to score. All we need is patience and perseverance, which is what he does. I and everyone else has patience because he is a great player,” Valverde said per BBC Sport.

The 55-year-old coach granted Suarez another full 90 on Saturday versus Los Rojiblancos.

The Uruguayan broke his goal drought toward the very last minutes of the match as he scooped a shot in the net from the box in the 93rd minute.

Was the bad treatment from some of the Blaugrana fans and the club’s surge for a replacement striker fair on Suarez?

For starters, Suarez is 32 years old and the only other true number nine on the club’s roster is 31-year-old Kevin Prince Boateng, whose loan deal with the club will end this summer. Therefore, whether the ex-Liverpool man is performing or not the club needs to start looking for his replacement because of his age.

But was it right for the club to run after a new striker right when Suarez had played a couple of bad games? Well, maybe they didn’t.

Sport English reported that Barca was interested in Jovic on January 15. Suarez had netted a brace against Eibar on January 13. And according to The Mirror, the Spanish champions were trying to bring in Rashford on December 23.

So it’s fair to say that the media was excessively regenerating news about the Spanish giants’ wish for a new striker because Suarez was underperforming.

As for the Blaugrana fans’ criticisms, was that fair for the South American? Suarez was far from the player he is before the game against Sevilla. He misplaced numerous simple passes and missed easy one-on-ones. In a match versus Real Valladolid on February 16, Lionel Messi gave him a pass in the box and the ball bounced off his foot.

After five consecutive poor performances from a world class player like Suarez when Barca is in a critical part of their season, you can understand why some fans were aggravated. He did bounce back against Sevilla with a goal but a club of Barcelona’s standard cannot afford to have a number nine who occasionally goes out of form.

On a positive note, even when Suarez is not at his best, he’s still showing his fighting spirit as he runs hard for the whole 90 minutes. Ultimately, as mentioned, the former Ajax man was rewarded with a goal in the last stages of the Catalonians’ match against Sevilla.

A goal could be all the Uruguayan needs to start putting up top-notch performances week in and week out again. Replacing a striker with a glamorous past as Suarez shouldn’t be because he’s not playing well but because of his age.