Luis Suarez has taken to social media to pay an emotional tribute to Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard, who announced his retirement from professional football on Thursday.
Steven Gerrard announced his retirement from football on Thursday, prompting tributes from all corners of the world.
Former teammate Luis Suarez had been silent on the matter until late last night, when he posted a long, emotional tribute to the former Liverpool captain. Gerrard and Suarez were a key part of the Liverpool side that came agonisingly close to winning the Premier League in 2013-14.
Gerrard also stood by Suarez’s side when the Uruguayan striker was embroiled in a highly controversial racism scandal involving Manchester United’s Patrice Evra, which resulted in the Barcelona striker receiving an eight-game ban.
Their relationship off the pitch was clearly one that Suarez valued, with Gerrard’s advice and leadership helping the Uruguayan through the many tough times he endured in England, where the media was absolutely unforgiving to the former Ajax striker.
It was not just Gerrard’s off-the-pitch character that Suarez remembered, however. The Uruguayan and Gerrard shared a great chemistry on the pitch, at times echoing the one that the Englishman shared with former teammate Fernando Torres.
In the 2013-14 season, Luis Suarez scored 31 goals, Daniel Sturridge 21, and Steven Gerrard netted 13 — evidence of the great chemistry between Brendan Rodgers’ players at the time.
It was also Gerrard who convinced Suarez to turn down Arsenal when they came calling, telling him that his talents would mean he would eventually get a move to a bigger club. This proved to be sound advice yet again, as Suarez went on to move to Barcelona, where he is now a part of one of the most exciting attacking trios in recent memory.
Suarez’s complete tribute to Gerrard can be seen below:
YNWA #StevenGerrard pic.twitter.com/8YcfN5OJVL
— Luis Suarez (@LuisSuarez9) November 24, 2016