The Uruguay and former Barcelona striker told Mundo Deportivo that Álvarez's profile makes him ideally suited to the Camp Nou.
"A player as intelligent as Julián, with the trajectory he has had since leaving River, through City, Atlético and also the national team — he would arrive and adapt because he would know how to fulfil his role," he said.
Suárez elaborated on what makes Álvarez such a strong fit.
"He is a player who works very hard. At Barcelona he will have wide players who will create many situations for him. He has good link-up play, good movement. He will fit in immediately at Barcelona."
He acknowledged the difficulty of the exit all the same.
"But there is the other part — he is at a big club like Atlético. It is going to be difficult to leave. These coming weeks are going to be a lovely story."
Suárez drew a direct parallel with his own experience at Liverpool in 2013. He pushed hard for a move to Arsenal at the time — interest Liverpool rejected, with captain Steven Gerrard doing the convincing.
"These are situations you force at a certain moment. I had to live through it at Liverpool. In 2013, I forced my exit because I wanted to go to Arsenal," he said. "But I remember the captain, Gerrard, grabbed me and said: 'Stay. Next year you can go wherever you want — to Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern... But this year, please, stay. You can't go to Arsenal.' And he convinced me."
He left the door open for a similar resolution in Álvarez's case: "The same thing could happen with Julián — that Simeone grabs him and says: 'This year I want you to stay with us.'"
Álvarez publicly stated last week that he wants to leave Atletico Madrid this summer. The club has rejected bids from both Real Madrid and Barcelona, and CEO Miguel Ángel Gil Marín has filed a FIFA complaint against Barcelona over alleged tapping up. The Argentina forward is contracted until 2030.