‘I’d give my soul every game,’ said Luis Suarez recently when asked what it would mean for him to play for Real Madrid. Cue mass hysteria about how Liverpool’s number 7 was once again flapping him gums about a potential move to the Spanish capital.
Many fans are angry and disappointed that Suarez seemingly wants out of Anfield but personally I can’t see why.
In an ideal world, Suarez would give Liverpool one more season and help them in the quest to achieve a Champions League place before moving on for pastures new. Unfortunately, the world of football is far from ideal.
Loyalty is thin on the ground and should be cherished when players show it. It should not be expected. Not anymore.
For all his talk of Madrid (and there has been a lot of it) Suarez hasn’t criticised Liverpool. He’s been effusive about the support he’s had on Merseyside, he has spoken about how much it means for him to play at Anfield, even how amazing it is to see his daughter sing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’. It doesn’t seem so much like Luis Suarez is desperate to leave Liverpool, it’s just that he badly wants to play for Real Madrid.
Sorry, but where is the shock in that? For most players, especially those from South American countries, Spain’s best two teams, Real Madrid and Barcelona, are seen as the pinnacle of European club football. The Premier League may be extremely popular but the stature of Spain’s big two holds more allure.
Liverpool fans should be as aware of this as anyone. Xabi Alonso loved Liverpool. He immersed himself in the city, its culture and its history. He formed an emotional bond that still exists to this day. When Real Madrid came calling though, he left. Ditto Javier Mascherano. No player has ever given more to the Liverpool cause in terms of sheer graft than the Argentine. Even in his final appearance for the Reds against Arsenal, he ran himself into the ground and put in a masterful performance.
His apparent reluctance to play a few days later ahead of his long protracted move to Barcelona cast a shadow over his Anfield career but his affection for the club is still there. He dedicated his Champions League final win with Barcelona over Manchester United to Liverpool’s supporters. Ultimately though, for all his connection to Liverpool, he badly wanted and eventually got his move to Catalonia.
Cristiano Ronaldo was and is, obviously in love with Manchester United and was excelling there in his final two seasons but he couldn’t resist the lure of Madrid either. It’s just the way it is.
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Some of indignation around Suarez’s potential move is a result of the way he is trying to engineer it. Suarez claims that he is considering leaving England because of the media pressure he is under and to some extent he has a point. When he is booed at the PFA awards by his fellow professionals it’s got to hurt a little.
When Gordon Taylor says he needs to be more of a role model like Robin van Persie (not quite the committed family man that Suarez appears to be if stories are to be believed) and Gareth Bale (how many yellow cards did he pick up for simulation last season?) Suarez must be left shaking his head. The furore around a seemingly accidental handball in an FA Cup tie against Mansfield was ridiculous to the extreme and yet it was spectacularly topped by having the Prime Minister of the country commenting on his nibble of Branislav Ivanovic’s arm. Is that’s what you were elected for, Dave? Could you blame Suarez for being fed up with all of that?
Having said that, it’s likely that Suarez could cope with his perceived persecution. He has obviously felt this way for a long time in England and has still managed to excel in this country. Whatever your take on the media stick he receives and how much it actually affects him and his family, there is no doubt that it gives him an excuse to leave Liverpool.
The problem is, most people see through it and many want him to be more ‘honest’ about his motives. I can’t fathom why. Would Liverpool fans be happier if their best player came out and said ‘I’m one of the top 5 players in the world and deserve to be playing at a higher level than Liverpool Football Club can offer’? I doubt it. If anything, he is saving some face for his club by using the media as his motive for leaving rather than the continued underachievement on the pitch at Anfield.
Some supporters believe that he owes Liverpool a debt for sticking by him after his transgressions but that line of thinking is extremely optimistic. If Suarez had scored 3 goals instead of 30 last season, Liverpool would be hawking him around Europe right now, desperate to rid themselves of the player and all his baggage. The reason that they stuck by him was because he is their best player. The fact of the matter is that Suarez should be playing for a top team and life in Spain, where he and his family would surely be more settled, is too attractive for him to turn down.
If Real Madrid submit a sufficient bid this summer then Suarez will be gone. However, if Los Blancos (or indeed the likes of Barcelona) decide to pursue other marquee strikers or baulk at Liverpool’s asking price (which should be no less than £50m given the price received for an inferior Fernando Torres), then Suarez will be likely to stay at Anfield and continue to do what he always has done.
‘I will give my soul every game……. I did every time on the pitch for Uruguay, Ajax and Liverpool’.
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I think the Suarez saga is prolonging itself. Am an ardent supporter of liverpool and a fan of Luis Suarez. Would have loved Suarez to stay a season more to prove his critics wrong but if the Bernabeu is his preferred destination,then i wish him well. Every human has flaws but Suarez is too unique that even the prime-minister poke his nose in his affairs
you should have quoted him verbatim esp the part he said “am dissapointed lfc are not in the champions league or challenging for titles which is where they should be” he has done everything the right way so far and we know he wld still deliver if we dnt sell him. I hope we get the right price for him after one more season. YNWA
Much work to do, Suarez issue still hanging over us?
Center back or 2 needed?
Winger still needed and not a young unproven one at that.
Player sales still to help out also?
spearing, assaidi, shelvey, coates, ngoo, flanagan, downing can all go!!!
1. Jones
2. Johnson
3. Enrique
5. Agger
7. Suarez
8. Gerrard
10. Coutinho
11. Assaidi
14. Henderson
15. Sturridge
16. Coates
19. Downing
21. Lucas
24. Allen
25. Reina
29. Borini
30. Suso
31. Sterling
33. Shelvey
34. Kelly
35. Coady
36. Yesil
37. Skrtel
38. Flanagan
43. McLaughlin
44. Ibe
45. Sama
47. Wisdom
48. Sinclair
49. Robinson
50. Morgan
51. Jones
52. Ward
– Alberto
– Aspas
– Mignolet
– Pacheco
– Spearing
Good article!
I agree that the time has come to sell Suarez. And it need not be to the detriment of the club. Arsenal sold RVP last season, yet gained more points this season than last.
The key lesson for Liverpool is that they have to reinvest wisely, and have to do better than when they sold Torres.
My article, the case for selling Luis Suarez, can be found at the following link:
http://hitrowz.com/2013/06/02/player-focus-the-case-for-selling-luis-suarez/
Grateful for your views!
Of couse Suarez has to choose somewhere outside EPL. After all the reasons he gave for his requested departure, mostly because of the British press; he got to be an absolute ediot if he choose another EPL club. Some English clubs might be even secretly kicking themselfs for their comments about Suarez. Yes, it is time for him and Liverpool to part ways. With his departure and some impending sales of deadwoods, BR can get Mkhitaryan and one or two more players. And might even have some good balance for winter transfer.
The owners and B Rodgers should stand firm and should only sell Suarez for £55 to £65M
As suarez is currently the third best player in world at moment and Neymar cost Barcelona £61m and Real Madrid have offered £65M plus as their first offer.
And Suarez is better than both of them, so he should not be sold for no less than £55M
But if Bayern Munich, PSG, Real Madrid Or Manchester City meet that Valuation then he should be shipped out and replaced with these 5 attacking players, but owners would have to add £8m to money brought in from Suarez sale:
1: FD: C Benteke(21) Of A Villa for £18-£22M
2: FD: L Muriel(23) Of Udinese for £10-£14M
3: RW / RWF: Nolito(26) Of Benfica for £3-£6M
4: LW /LWF: D Capel (25) Of Sporting Clube De Portugal / Lisbon for £3-£7M
5: AM: I Munian(20) Of A Bilbao for £10-£14M
These five attacking players would cost club: £43-£63
They would bring more class, quality, quality competition for places, creativity, depth, goals, mobility, movement, pace and speed to the squad.
Makes me laugh to myself, do our fans, They come on here and attack Suarez, who virtually carried the team all season, then attack and go berzerk at anybody who questions the managers awful first season in charge. Now I know one is loved by the media(for some unknown reason), and the other hated, but I at least thought that “Our own fans” would be able to see through the manipulation a BS.
When it comes to honesty, I as a fan want him to be outright in his move and ask for a transfer to Madrid, not insult the club as you’ve suggested. A fan is not a child incapable of understanding. His current method of sending messages through the media is cowardly.
Mascherano provided the most graft to the LFC cause? Debatable. I wish we’d resolve the issue of LS7 and move him on soonest. That money would rebuild this team big time and in good time for incoming players to start gelling with playing colleagues.
Suarez may not have openly criticized Liverpool but he has made it clear that Liverpool has not done enough to keep him interested in playing for them. The question remains whether Saurez would still leave after the media scrutiny bashing he received if Liverpool had more top name marque signings. I think Saurez would have left Liverpool regardless of the quality of players we had or how on our roster or what prestigious competitions we were competing for.
History has proven that Saurez exhibits cannibalism on the pitch from time to time. We saw this at Ajax and now at Liverpool. Ajax was a team with a lot of other big name talents. People like Sieme De Jong and Christain Eriksen. Ajax was also competing in Champion’s league. It wasn’t enough to keep Suarez when he was hit with a fine for biting a player during a match against PSV Eindohoven.
Bottom line is that Suarez is not as loyal as he claims to be. When the going gets tough Suarez will get going.