Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has denied the existence of a bite clause in the contract of Luis Suarez.

Suarez is currently serving a four-month ban from all football-related activity having bitten Italy's Giorgio Chiellini during the World Cup, meaning that he will not be able to play for, or even train with, his new teammates until October.

The 27-year-old, who moved to the Camp Nou from Liverpool for a reported £75m this summer, has now been banned on three separate occasions for biting players, but Bartomeu insists that Barcelona have not included a clause to cover that eventuality.

"No, there is no clause. If the clause did exist we wouldn't say it, but it doesn't exist," he told CNN.

"We didn't rethink the decision [to sign him] and we told Luis after the bite. He knows he did wrong. He apologised. That's very important for us.

"That means he knows that he did not do things properly - and of course, coming to our city, coming to our club, there's going to be a way of managing Luis Suarez, because at Liverpool he was a perfect player. Liverpool fans can tell it, supporters can tell it."

Suarez has not yet been officially unveiled as a Barcelona player as he is banned from entering the Camp Nou.

Written by
Barney Corkhill