HAVING gone through the 5 stages of grief following news of Suarez’s apparent desire to leave the club, this weekend I finally arrived at acceptance. I’ve always felt that, regardless of who the player is, if he wants to go, let him go. Nobody that chooses to leave this club deserves to stay here, so why shed any tears over them?
In the case of players like Suarez though (and previously, Torres, Alonso, Mascherano) it’s much harder to swallow when you either made them the player they are now, or you stood by them through thick and thin when any other club might have thrown them to the wolves.
This being the case with Suarez, after the nigh-on 20 matches he’s missed through suspension over the past two seasons, you would like to have expected a little more loyalty and maybe even a bit of self-awareness on his part that he does in fact ‘owe us’ at least a final season.
However, it’s unlikely that that’ll happen so I hope to God it happens quickly, for his sake and our own, as we don’t want a situation like the one Torres created – the same transfer window we signed Suarez in – where we were left in the lurch at the last minute, as Torres showed a great deal of cowardice in forcing a move through at literally the last second.
So, if we all accept that it is probably inevitable that we will be starting next season without Luis at our club then the question arises as to how much is enough to allow him to leave.
For me, that figure stands at £50 million, at the very least. If the likes of Falcao, Neymar and Bale are going for upwards of £60, then Suarez is very easily worth the same. In that sense, the club really needs to show some backbone over the fee and stand firm in the face of Florentino Perez and Real Madrid’s quite open tapping-up.
There is apparently a figure of no more than £25 million which Madrid are prepared to pay, and they are said to be looking to add a player or two to that to cover the extra. I know that they are used to getting their own way but that offer should, quite frankly, be laughed off the negotiating table.
The only sort of money plus player offer that the club should even consider would be at least £35-£40 million plus Alonso, as it would be unlikely that the other Madrid players moving on this summer such as Higuain, Modric or Di Maria would consider the Reds without Champions League football.
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And that is precisely what has got Liverpool in the position they are currently in, with regards to practically being a feeder club for the likes of Madrid – a lack of Champions League football. This is something which is a big draw for players likes Suarez; they want to test themselves at the highest level and against players of similar calibre and that is totally understandable.
Personally, if Luis had used that as his reasoning from the off, I’m sure many of us would still have felt that he owed us but given what he’s given us as a player so far, you’d find it hard to begrudge him a move to a club that can currently match his ambitions.
The money from Suarez (plus Carroll, Downing and any others that are let go) would allow the club to really strengthen in key areas but then it would also leave us without a recognised world-class player. Gerrard is still a great player but has waned somewhat in recent seasons, while Reina’s star has also fallen but has begun to rise again recently, meaning that Suarez is currently our only real top-class star.
As I’ve written before, he is also one of only a handful of players in the world, along with Messi and Ronaldo, that have that tangible sense of ‘otherness’ on the pitch. They are almost ethereal and otherworldly and they terrify opposition teams, they’re just that special and in Suarez, Liverpool have that.
So the options are: let him go and allow us to build a ‘team’ or, keep him and perhaps only be able to strengthen one or two areas? It’s a tough one and a question that requires as much of your heart as it does your brain.
As for myself, I’m still undecided. I’m really just trying to protect myself from another one of my favourite players leaving, but I also can’t overlook the fact that adding £50+ million to the funds we already have to spend this summer could help significantly strengthen.
On the other hand, can we really trust Brendan Rodgers with that kind of money? Would we not only lose Suarez to a club we should be rivalling, but also squander the fortunes made from his sale on 3-4 players simply not up to the task of taking the club forward?
The only way forward at the moment is to ‘play it by ear’ and just see what happens in the coming weeks. The hope is that Suarez will stay but we should also be prepared for him leaving the club he previously professed to love.
I only hope that, if he does choose to leave, that the love he apparently has for the club means he shows the club and fans the respect they deserve and makes it happen as quickly as humanly possible.
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If Real Madrid have offered £60M plus for Bale, then Suarez should be sold for no less than what Bale is being coverted.
The club should not sell Suarez for no less than £60M, if Neymar has joined Barcelona for £61M and Real Madrid are offering over £60M for Bale, then Suarez’s minimum price should be £60M Minimum.
As he is better than Bale and Neymar
Suarez is our only true world class player now. We would have been bottom half if it wasn’t for him
He is worth any hassle. But I dont blame gunfire wanting to leave
Its not talents like Suarez that Liverpool fans sshould be complaining about… It’s useless lumps like Allen downing and Borini etc who as getting paid fortunes but giving little or nothing back
cash plus higuain! higuain would come because he just wants to play and here we will give him first team football, he has never had that on a regular basis in all his time at Madrid and he also stated that he wants to play some where he is loved and so he would be a perfect fit!
I’d agree, why is Bale supposedly worth so much more than Suarez, it’s got to be a similar price, there is no 40 million buyout clause in his contract and he’s as important to Liverpool as Bale is to Spurs, fair enough Suarez can be a bit bonkers but he is a better player in my opinion, Bale’s main attribute is his pace and if that goes he’ll lose a bit part of his game.
true, suarez is our only top-classplayer, but with all the trouble …. no, let real madrid handle that, and let us at last built a squad going somewhere. and buying sturridge and coutinho, i trust rodgers with the money
Lol – allen borini assaidi Sahin , I wouldn’t trust Rodgers with a tenner
The man is incompetent .
Sell the rat faced little *for 50mil plus alonso or higuain,I hate to be bitter but I hope he gets a very bad injury soon after leaving us,no other club wud of stood by like we did an dis is how we are repaid.I jus wish Allen and borini would come out an say dey want to leave too
yea. sell that ingrate.
Enough is enough. The glass is now full! Can’t take anymore. The club needs to show guts.
Here is what I want from the club.
1-set the price. 50-60 million and no less
2-set a deadline. Say June 30’th 11:59 .
3-get the money spent on 2 strikers and a class midfielder. A quick example would be Navas, Negredo ….will offer us the 20 plus goals we need.
As much as he is a world class striker, his actions are out of order. I understand that he wants to compete with the best and win trophys, get more money etc. but there is a way of doing this. Not publicly . He could have told the club to get the best price and that he wishes to go. The club would be in a good negotiating possition . He does owe us as much as that! 2 bans, supported 100% by our club and supporters alike. We deserve more respect that we were shown
YNWA
Can’t understand the criticism toward Suarez. He has done more for Liverpool in last 2 year’s than anyone else
He has also shown considerable loyalty in last 12 months
What other top player would stay so long at such a sh*t team that is going nowhere ?
Spot on mate, its the other sh** players we should be hating on, not Suarez who has done everything humanly possible to help us be successful, its not his fault the rest of the squad just arent at his level.
I couldn’t give a monkey’s what Suarez has done or said. He is our best player and without him we are screwed
Lets keep Luis , he is worth more than the rest put together as Stevie is a little past his best
We will suffer a bit once Suarez leaves, and he will leave. Anyone that uses a pussy excuse like the media are hurting my feelings can go screw themselves. And biting, really, be a man and punch a guy. I guarantee the punishment would have been less and you wouldn’t look like a little ponce. Let him go, get a few world class players and strengthen the defense.
‘And biting, really, be a man and punch a guy.’
Congrats on the most stupid thing I’ve ever read!!! So you think that to punch someone that got the better of you in a game is being a man!!!??? Wow, I hope the likes of you never have children.
I think if we were all honest, we knew this day would come. I had hoped that it would be next summer when LS is 27 going on 28, as that’s a good time to cash in on a striker. Despite the press conference, I think we are in a position of strength: we set an extortionate price (50-60 mil) and if they meet it great, if not we hold onto him for a year (as Man U did with Ronaldo) and we sell him next summer. Suarez is the type of player that will play regardless and won’t sulk; he’ll be worth just as much next summer. The truth is…we need to sell Suarez sometime over the next 2 years, like we needed to sell Torres. No one stays at the top of their game forever, and I would much rather support a club where you get these players during their peak years and move them on, then Madrid who (like with Kaka) pay top dollar for a player past their prime and paying them 200 k a week to watch them fade away.
Why so people think we will suffer? Juve nuts sold Zidane , arsenal sell their best players every year. So does Tottenham. Torres and mcmanaman left LFC ….Club is bigger.
They key is how quickly can business be conducted. With 50 million plus the money for Carrol, we can build. In fact, we can add up to 4 players which would strengthen the team.
The question is, do u trust Brendan with your money? The summer business was atrocious and cost 30 million plus. I wonder what Allen Borrini, asaidi will bring in if sold?
Liverpool are at a crucial stage once again. Rogers must also be careful not to tinker too much with the defense line up. Skertel and Reina I’m talking about. Otherwise, it’s going to take another season of mediocrity .
YNWA
1. We are a struggling club now…no top player will come here now to replace Suarez
2. Only a lunatic would trust Rodgers with big money. ( even fsg don’t trust him , hence the transfer committee)
3. Another season of Rodgers will set us back years
4. If Suarez does go , how long before coutinho decides to go to
1-you can find players…there are plenty of players out there. Negredo-Navas would bring us 20 goals plus.
2- I agree wholeheartedly
3-See above
we are back to the same issue. Rogers is not up to standard. lets hope the transfer committee does not let him spend the cash. If he gets his way, we will end up buying Ashley Williams for about 20 million.
Why would even second tier players like negredo or navas want to come here ( apart from the money ). They could easily join a champ league team ?
We can not attract any decent players with Rodgers in charge
As much as i love suarez,there is no denying he is a functioning lunatic.sell that donkey face as fast as possible…i still tink gerrard is world class only a clown would think otherwise!
Florentino Perez is offering £25m puls player for the biting backstaber. One of my buddy gave a suggestion,tell Florentino to take his money and shovell it up his players ‘***’!
Again. You are talking nonsense. What you said simply isn’t true
good article, i also felt the heartbreak when he decided he wanted to go same feeling as when Torres left. I’m slightly anxious we wont get the same calibre replacement this time round. Allen and Downing can follow him out the door. when are we going to find out about the three golden envelopes ha.