Barcelona and Real Madrid in race to sign Luis Suarez

Barcelona are set to beat rivals Real Madrid to the £52m signing of Luis Suarez, according to Spanish paper El Mundo Deportivo.

The deposed La Liga champions plan to partner the Uruguayan striker with Lionel Messi and Neymar, with a deal reportedly close to completion.

The paper report that Liverpool inserted a release clause of £68m in Suarez's last contract, but this is reduced to £52m if Barcelona or Real Madrid express an interest.

Barcelona also weighed up bids for Robin van Persie and Marco Reus before choosing Suarez, who scored 31 goals in 33 Premier League appearances for Liverpool last season.

Returning from a knee injury, he scored twice on Thursday night to push England to the brink of World Cup elimination.

The 27-year-old is one of the hottest properties in world football but his pursuit of regular silverware at Anfield has proved fruitless.

Despite his goals, Liverpool were unable to keep pace with Manchester City in the final stretch and missed out on the title.

But, with Real Madrid cooling their interest, it seems Suarez will have the chance to add to his medal collection at Barcelona.