Luis Suarez has opened up about the emotional turmoil he experienced back in the summer of 2013, when he was on the verge of leaving Liverpool. The Uruguayan striker was at the centre of a notorious bid from Arsenal, which the Gunners mistakenly thought would activate a release clause.
However, Liverpool had no intention of letting its star forward go, with John W. Henry famously taking to Twitter to mock the Gunners’ bid: “What do you think they’re smoking over there at Emirates?”.
Suarez was keen on a move, aiming for Champions League football, but he has since disclosed that it was a heart-to-heart with Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard that convinced him to stay for another season.
“I wanted to go because Arsenal played in the Champions League every year,” Suarez shared with streamer Davoo Xeneize. “But one day, during a training session, Gerrard came (to me), and for me he is one of the absolute best.
“He told me: ‘Listen to me, I was also going to go to Real Madrid and other places, but the best decision is for you to stay this year, because going to Arsenal will not help you at all in your career.
“If you stay, next year you will decide whether to go to Bayern Munich, Real Madrid or Barcelona’. That day I went home crying and told my wife that I would stay.”
Suarez had a remarkable final season with Liverpool, just missing out on the Premier League title, notching up 31 goals and 12 assists in 33 league matches. Steven Gerrard’s prediction came true as Suarez moved to Barcelona in a $84M deal in the summer of 2014.
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However, it wasn’t the first time Suarez had considered leaving Anfield. He revealed that he nearly left in the summer of 2012, with Juventus showing interest. It was Brendan Rodgers, the new Liverpool manager at the time, who convinced him to stay with his vision for the game.
“In 2012 I wanted to go to Juventus,” Suarez disclosed. “But Brendan Rodgers convinced me to stay, with his ideas about football.”
Suarez, now 38, is continuing to ply his trade in the United States at Inter Miami. He has reunited with ex-Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi with the MLS side, scoring four times in all competitions this season.
Inter Miami sits top of the Eastern Conference after winning four of its first five matches of the campaign. Suarez will hope to have an impact against Toronto FC on Monday.
