Luis Suarez waves goodbye to the end of his Liverpool affair LUIS SUAREZS divorce from English football is complete after Liverpool agreed a £75m deal with Barcelona for the Uruguay striker. Luis Suarez wasted little time getting comfortable in his new Barcelona shirt yesterday Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said the club had tried to talk Suarez out of pressing ahead with plans to quit Anfield, and vowed to ensure the departure of the controversial forward would not derail the progress he has overseen. But as he declared his love for the club, the lure of Spain has proved too much for Suarez and he asked Liverpool fans to understand his desire to move, claiming the time was right to depart. It is with a heavy heart that I leave Liverpool for a new life and new challenges in Spain, he said in a statement. Both me and my family have fallen in love with this club and with the city. I hope you can all understand why I have made this decision. This club did all they could to get me to stay, but playing and living in Spain, where my wifes family live, is a lifelong dream and ambition. I believe now the timing is right. He then put a letter on his twitter account with the message I want to share with all the Reds this letter from me and my family as he bade farewell. Rodgers will be given the proceeds from Suarezs defection to the Nou Camp to reinvest, though filling the chasm left by a player who scored 31 goals last season and routinely hit the heights despite his notable indiscretions will prove challenging. Liverpool Football Club is bigger than any individual Brendan Rodgers Suarez has agreed a £200,000-a-week, five-year contract and will undergo a medical in Spain in the coming days to rubber stamp the switch. Yet under the terms of his four month worldwide ban from football for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup, he will not be unveiled at the Nou Camp but the nearby Auditori 1899. Suarez will wear the No9 shirt vacated following Alexis Sanchezs move to Arsenal. Suarezs determination to continue his career in Spain left Liverpool seeking to maximise his value and despite Barcelona claiming they will pay only £64m for the player, the Merseyside club insist they achieved the full £75m asking price as stipulated in a buy-out clause. The club have done all they can over a sustained period of time to try to keep Luis at Liverpool, said Rodgers. It is with great reluctance and following lengthy discussions we have eventually agreed to his wishes to move to Spain for new experiences and challenges. We are focused on the future. I am confident we will improve the team further and will be stronger for this coming season, when we will be competing on all fronts; domestically and in the greatest club competition in the world, the Champions League. If there is one thing the history of this great club teaches us, it is that Liverpool Football Club is bigger than any individual. Suarez waved goodbye to the Kop in May The demand on Liverpool now will be to avoid making the same mistakes in the transfer market as Tottenham did last summer when they frittered away the proceeds of Gareth Bales £86m move to Real Madrid. Rodgers has already spent £37m on recruiting Adam Lallana, Emre Can, Rickie Lambert, while a £25m deal for Benficas Lazar Markovic is close to completion and a further £9.8m has been earmarked for Belgium forward Divock Origi. Origi would return to Lille on loan next season. In addition, a £20m offer for Southamptons Dejan Lovren remains on the table and Rodgers retains an interest in £16m Seville left-back Alberto Moreno. Enquiries have also been made for Swansea duo Wilfried Bony and Ben Davies, plus QPRs Loic Remy, with Liverpool looking to build a stronger squad aware a replacement for someone of Suarezs stature is unlikely to be available this summer. Suarezs bans while at Liverpool for racially abusing Patrice Evra and biting Chelseas Branislav Ivanovic clouded his career, but his positive contribution following an £18m move from Ajax in January 2011 should not be overlooked either. Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard described Suarez as a legend and an amazing talent on Instagram yesterday. And they could yet be pitted against Suarez and Barcelona in the Champions League next season, but the prospect of him representing the Anfield club against Europes elite is now over.
Posted on: Sat, 12 Jul 2014 05:40:36 +0000