Liverpool legend has revealed how he
personally urged Luis Suarez to reject a move to Arsenal in favour of
staying at Anfield in the summer of 2013.
Arsenal bid £40,000,001 for the Uruguayan striker, activating his buyout clause but the Reds rejected the offer and the attacker stayed at Anfield for one more season before moving on to Barcelona on 2014.
According to the Mirror UK, Gerrard intervened when it seemed the
striker was heading for Arsenal and his intervention helped repair the
relationship between the player and the club manager, Brendan Rodgers.
Gerrard said on BT Sport’s ‘ Sport In Focus – Steven Gerrard’. : “Before the meeting you had Luis Suarez training on his own in the afternoon at Melwood. Brendan’s relationship with Luis had broken down. I don’t think it was Brendan’s fault. Luis wanted to move on, to play Champions League football and he had people in his ear and people around him forcing him to make moves that maybe he didn’t really want to do.
“So I think it was just a case of being in the middle and trying to heal that relationship with him and Brendan and get him training with the first team again and just chatting to Luis and saying to him, is it Arsenal that you really want or do you want Real Madrid or Barca?”
Gerrard said he knew Suarez favoured move to Barcelona more than Arsenal and he convinced him to think that way.
Gerrard also claimed he convinced the striker to stay at Liverpool for the sake of his family and the fear of Arsenal becoming a far stronger club.
He continued: “For me and all the Liverpool supporters and Liverpool people it made no sense at all, him going to Arsenal because it would have made them an awful lot stronger.
“When you lose someone like Luis Suarez it makes you an awful lot weaker, so for me, I was prepared to do anything it took to try and make that not happen.”
Meanwhile Gerrard is set to release an autobiography titled My Story, and it in he revealed the best and world players he played with at Liverpool.
He also revealed he was unhappy when Jose Mourinho chose Chelsea over Liverpool in the summer of 2004.
Arsenal bid £40,000,001 for the Uruguayan striker, activating his buyout clause but the Reds rejected the offer and the attacker stayed at Anfield for one more season before moving on to Barcelona on 2014.
Gerrard (left) convinced Suarez (right) to reject Arsenal
Gerrard said on BT Sport’s ‘ Sport In Focus – Steven Gerrard’. : “Before the meeting you had Luis Suarez training on his own in the afternoon at Melwood. Brendan’s relationship with Luis had broken down. I don’t think it was Brendan’s fault. Luis wanted to move on, to play Champions League football and he had people in his ear and people around him forcing him to make moves that maybe he didn’t really want to do.
“So I think it was just a case of being in the middle and trying to heal that relationship with him and Brendan and get him training with the first team again and just chatting to Luis and saying to him, is it Arsenal that you really want or do you want Real Madrid or Barca?”
Gerrard said he knew Suarez favoured move to Barcelona more than Arsenal and he convinced him to think that way.
Gerrard also claimed he convinced the striker to stay at Liverpool for the sake of his family and the fear of Arsenal becoming a far stronger club.
He continued: “For me and all the Liverpool supporters and Liverpool people it made no sense at all, him going to Arsenal because it would have made them an awful lot stronger.
“When you lose someone like Luis Suarez it makes you an awful lot weaker, so for me, I was prepared to do anything it took to try and make that not happen.”
Meanwhile Gerrard is set to release an autobiography titled My Story, and it in he revealed the best and world players he played with at Liverpool.
He also revealed he was unhappy when Jose Mourinho chose Chelsea over Liverpool in the summer of 2004.
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