Luis Suarez has been accused of cheating in an Italian language exam he needed to pass to seal a move from Barcelona to Juventus earlier this month.

The Uruguayan striker looked to be on the brink of a move to Turin and attempted to get an Italian passport through his wife, who is an Italian citizen.

That would have allowed him to be registered as a citizen of the European Union and thus would not have counted towards Juve's non-EU quota.

He travelled to Perugia, where he passed the necessary assessment but the authorities are now investigating alleged irregularities in his examination.

“During the investigations, irregularities emerged in the exam taken by Luis Suarez to obtain the Italian citizenship," a statement from the Prosecutor’s Office of Perugia and the Guardia di Finanza read.

“From the investigative activities it emerged that the topics covered by the exam had been agreed in advance and that the score had been assigned before the exam, and that the candidate had demonstrated only an elementary knowledge of the Italian language.

“Today the financial police are carrying out documentary acquisitions at the University of Perugia aimed at confirming the conduct described and notifying for crimes of disclosure of office secrets, ideological falsehood committed by public officials and more.”

With the move to Juve having seemingly collapsed, Suarez is now being heavily linked with a move to Atletico Madrid, but recent reports have suggested that the transfer could be in jeopardy, with Barca hoping to exact a fee for his services.

Juve, meanwhile, have moved to re-sign Alvaro Morata from Atletico Madrid, while they are also being heavily linked with a move for Roma star Edin Dzeko.