FC Barcelona striker Luis Suarez believes that the Steven Gerrard slip against Chelsea FC was ‘destiny’ and adds that he would never had been at Anfield that season if not for the former Liverpool FC captain.
In a crunch match against Chelsea FC in April 2014, Demba Ba scored as the Blues went onto win the match 2-0 after the forward was sent through on goal following a Steven Gerrard slip.
The defeat halted Liverpool’s title charge, which could have culminated in potentially their first League title win in 24 years.
Liverpool FC eventually finished second and Lui Suarez was then sold to FC Barcelona, while he was serving a ban for biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini during the World Cup. The striker won the treble last season. scoring 25 goals and was part of the famous MSN strike force, which bundled 122 goals in all competition last season.
Suarez considers Gerrad to be one of his best friends in football
Suarez had scored 31 goals and assisted another 21 in 33 Premier League games, as he helped Liverpool FC to a second placed finish. However, the Uruguayan striker believes that the title was never meant to be Liverpool FC’s.
The fiery forward was close to moving to Arsenal FC a year before in 2013, when the Gunners had submitted the now infamous A?40,000,001 bid for him. But, Suarez insists that it was Gerrard who convinced him to stay at Liverpool despite the offer from Arsenal FC.
. “He is one of the best. In soccer it is difficult to make many friends, very complicated because everything that revolves around the sport. But he is one of the best because of all the support he gave me on a sporting level and through all the criticism I received in England, he didn’t care and he always stood up for me in all the cases,” Suarez said, speaking in an interview with ESPN FC.
“The racism, [Branislav] Ivanovic [bite], everything, he always showed me how I should treat a teammate, the club and everything. He convinced me to stay when I was close to signing with Arsenal.
“He told me to wait, that one of the best teams in Europe would come looking for me if you have a great season. That’s one of the things I always remembered and he was right because then next year Barcelona came to sign me.
“I wish that we would have ended as champions. Things happened in the Chelsea game and, well, that’s destiny. I definitely consider him one of my best friends in soccer because of what he meant to me on a personal level.”
Liverpool FC struggling to replace Luis Suarez
After missing out on the title in 2014 and losing Luis Suarez to FC Barcelona, the Reds looked to rebuild with the huge money at their disposal courtesy of the A?75 million transfer of the Uruguayan. While it was clear that replacing Luis Suarez like-for-like was next to impossible, the Reds could have used the transfer funds at their disposal in a much better way.
Having spent close to a A?100 million, the Merseysider’s finished 6th in the Premier League and thus outside of the Champions League places last season. Brendan Rodgers’ new look side failed to find any sort of rhythm or momentum. Liverpool FC have again splashed close to A?80 million so far in the summer, but, the progress they make after another summer of upheaval remains to be seen.