Luis Suarez's time in Barcelona has not been what most have expected.

And as a result, the Uruguayan, who already has a target on his back every time he steps on the pitch for his biting antics, is under ever-increasing scrutiny at one of the most challenging places to play in the world--the Camp Nou.

And because of that scrutiny, and the team's oceanic chaos, the former Liverpool superstar is rumored to be on the way out. Key word is of course "rumored." But rumors start somewhere and sometimes they wind up making things happen in unexpected ways.

The Suarez rumors that are cropping up are not baseless. In fact, they are not really all that surprising. Here is some context: Suarez came into Barcelona after annihilating the Premier League with 31 goals and 12 assists for Liverpool in 2013-14. He was frightening, strong and peerless in the most physical of leagues.

So when Barcelona spent well over $75 million for him this summer to become part of its "big three," the expectations were that Suarez would bring around the same number of goals to the table, thus relieving pressure from Neymar and Lionel Messi. This would in turn help the team move forward offensively.

But Suarez has been, at least based on those expectations, a disappointment. His goal total on the year marks in at three in 12 games, only one of them coming in the domestic league (this does not include his Copa del Rey tallies). Assists seem to be better to come by with six in that same span. So it is not as if Suarez is not producing. He is producing in the capacity given to him, which is, in many respects, as Messi's second sidekick.

But since his arrival, Barcelona has lost three matches and trails Real Madrid for the Spanish League title lead by one point (and Madrid has a game in hand). Suarez's return has shockingly coincided with two divergent trends--Neymar's lack of productivity and Messi's own goal scoring resurgence. Since Suarez's big return on Oct. 25, the Brazilian four goals in nine matches, a far cry from the 10 goals in 10 matches he had prior to being teamed up with the Uruguayan up top. Meanwhile, Messi has put up a stunning 14 goals in 12 matches since Suarez's insertion into the lineup; Messi had nine goals in the 11 matches prior to the Real Madrid game during which Suarez debuted. Too many cooks in the kitchen in the case of Neymar? Or is Suarez actually doing his job and facilitating life for Messi?

But the big takeaway is truly that Barcelona has gone from invincible to looking terribly lost at numerous points since having Suarez in the lineup. The attack is looking staler when Messi is not driving it and Suarez's own role is up in the air. Throw in the departure of Andoni Zubizarreta, the man who signed Suarez, the team's inability to bring in more talent during the transfer window, and you have a situation in which frustrations would be taken out on a player that is public enemy number one for many soccer viewers and has failed to live up to his price tag (granted few would).

And while Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea fans may be salivating at the thought of the feisty Suarez returning to the country of his most recent success, the reality is that this is a fantasy. It might not be a stretch to say that Suarez's departure is as unlikely as Messi's, if not more so.

Messi is the club icon and losing him would be bad for business, brand and soccer. Simply put there is no way Barcelona wins on any front with Messi's departure. Now what about the hundreds of millions that would come to Barcelona's coffers? You mean the coffers that cannot be used to buy any talent for the next year (and probably nothing special in the winter of 2016)? You mean the money that would probably lose its value when Barcelona can buy players again and teams, knowing full well how much the team has to spend, will inflate prices to sell their players?

Barcelona would not be in any position of power with any money, however great, it received from the Messi deal.

And so it is with Suarez. The $75 million plus used to buy are certainly not coming back, especially not six months after they were spent. It was overpay to begin with and no one else is likely to pay the same fee for a man that some would avoid like the plague (because of his chronic desire to bite players), especially when all he has to show for himself are three goals in 12 games for one of the best clubs in the world. Assuming Barcelona can get back $50 million for Suarez, the team would be able to do nothing with that money.

And instead, the club would be losing a player who based on his historical statistics, is good for 30 goals. He is already proving himself quite the setup man (he is second only to Messi on the team and has played far fewer games than his other most direct competitors) and averages more key passes per game than any other player wearing the red and blue, Messi included. The only way to create chances is through key passes and Suarez is clearly good at it.

But the reality is that to date, Suarez has shown an ability to work in Barcelona's system. He does not have as much space to run and he is not the main man, but that has no phased him and he is not a big problem for Barcelona.

Imagine a scenario in which Messi does force a move. Now imagine the team decides to dump Suarez as well? What becomes of Blaugrana then? Is Neymar really expected to carry the offensive torch all alone? Is Pedro Rodriguez really supposed to increase his goal totals to 50 a year at this point? Is Munir El Haddadi really going to score 30 goals right now? Is there anyone that could approximate the proven goal scoring of Suarez?

Keeping Messi and selling Suarez reverts the team to the point it was at last year. And if anyone recalls, last year's offensive ineffectiveness was the main reason the team wanted to bring in Suarez to begin with.

Selling Suarez is not going to happen. Or at least it should not.