Luis Suarez channels his inner Gareth Bale to win Champions League for Barcelona less than a year after leaving Liverpool

Bale left Tottenham in 2013 and headed in the winning goal for Real Madrid the next season

Gareth Bale and Luis Suarez have left Premier League clubs to win the Champions League (Getty Images)

For Gareth Bale, read Luis Suarez. English Champions League hopefuls sell their best player to a Spanish team, squander the money received before seeing their former player score the winner in the final? Stop us if you’ve heard this before.

Thirteen months after Bale scored what proved to be the winning goal for Real against neighbours Atletico to win the 2014 Champions League, with Tottenham failing dismally to reach the competition having invested the resultant money foolishly, Suarez repeated the feat.

After going agonisingly close to a first league title in 24 years last season, Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool side struggled badly this season after Suarez departed for Barcelona in £75 in the summer, with new signings Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert, Dejan Lovren, Mario Balotelli and Lazar Markovic failing to impress and the club not able to reach the Champions League. Events mirror that of North London just a year previous.

Bale departed for Real Madrid for a world record £85m in September 2013, with Tottenham brining in the likes of Paulinho, Vlad Chriches, Erik Lamela and Roberto Soldado as they sought a return to the Champions League.

Things did not go to plan, with the majority of their new arrivals struggling and the club again failing to finish in the top four. Then they could do only watch as Bale scored the second of Real Madrid’s goals in their 4-1 extra-time victory over Atletico in Lisbon last spring.

What price something similar happening again in Milan next May?