Barcelona plan special diet for Luis Suarez ahead of next month's El Clasico

Barcelona's Luis Suarez shoots and scores a goal against Indonesia U19 player Hansamu Yama during today's friendly

James Orr

Barcelona have put Luis Suarez on a special diet ahead of his competitive debut for the club against Real Madrid next month, according to reports in Spain.

Suarez, whose four-month competitive ban for biting Giorgio Chiellini ends on 24th October, scored twice for Barcelona's 'B' team against Indonesia Under-19s on Wednesday, but many unflattering images of the player emerged, leading one Spanish TV channel to describe him as "fatter than usual".

The 27-year-old striker joined Barcelona for £75m from Liverpool during the summer, and by a quirk of fate will make his debut for Barca in the crucial El Clasico fixture on 25 October.

The headline on the front page of today's Mundo Deportivo reads "Plan Luis Suarez" with the report claiming that he will be put on a special diet plan to drop a few kilos before the big game.

Suarez scored a remarkable 31 goals for Liverpool last season.