Liverpool owner John W Henry has come down hard on Luis Suarez, saying that the striker will not be sold to Arsenal or any other European club this summer.
Henry said:
“I’m unequivocal that we won’t sell to Arsenal, whatever the bid is. I have not said it to Stan [Kroenke, Arsenal’s majority shareholder] but I had a personal conversation with others at Arsenal and told him [Ivan Gazidis] we would not sell to Arsenal.
“He won’t be sold even if a foreign club comes in because we do not have time to sign a suitable replacement. It’s a football reason. It’s not about finances. That’s why at this point, so late in the window, with everyone who’s already moved or isn’t moving, we can’t replace him. So for football reasons we can’t sell, and especially to Arsenal.”
The ball is now firmly in Suarez’s court to face the realization that he’ll need to change his attitude and concentrate on playing with belief and conviction for Liverpool instead of trying to force a move away from Anfield.
At the same time, it means that Arsenal have wasted a lot of time and energy into trying to sign a player that Liverpool don’t want to get rid of, which means it’s back to the drawing board for Gazidis and Wenger.
Is John W Henry blowing smoke, or is Suarez really not for sale? Tell us your opinion in the comments section below.
Here are tonight’s world soccer news headlines:
Premier League
- Luis Suárez is going nowhere, says Liverpool’s owner John W Henry — The Guardian
- Chelsea prepare to make third bid for Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney — The Guardian
- Carlton Cole scores two goals for Tottenham in closed-door friendly — Metro
- Hull target Twente midfielder Janssen as Bruce continues bid to strengthen — The Mail
- Luis Suarez: Liverpool fans want loyalty and an apology — BBC Sport
- Arsenal agreed personal terms with Higuain but put it on pause to focus on Suarez — Twitter
- Fulham line up move for QPR’s Esteban Granero — The Mail
- Sunderland hunting for creative midfielder to be heart of squad — Sunderland Echo
- Real block Tottenham’s bid to offload misfiring Adebayor — The Mail
- Talks break down over Gareth Bale as Tottenham question Real Madrid’s ability to fund transfer — Telegraph
- Premier League veteran Louis Saha announces retirement — Pro Soccer Talk
- Goal-line technology in football will avoid the pitfalls suffered by cricket – The Telegraph
- Real Madrid’s Álvaro Morata remains the key to Gareth Bale’s transfer from Spurs to Spain — The Mail
- Barça have made a €20m bid for Liverpool defender Daniel Agger — 101GG
- Arsenal’s priorities for the season ahead — ArseBlog
- Arsenal’s Gervinho completes £7m transfer to Roma — The Mail
- Fox Sports 1 could launch in around 85.8 million U.S. homes — Sports Business Daily
- A brief history of clubs selling players who were ‘not for sale’ — Dirty Tackle
- “Football supporters’ railcard” proposed to cut spiralling cost of travel to games — The Mirror
North American soccer
- Deal reached on Orlando soccer stadium for possible future MLS team — Orlando Sentinel
- Disgruntled Toronto FC fans need to protest with more than words — Pro Soccer Talk
International soccer
- England manager Roy Hodgson voices concern over Wayne Rooney’s mindset — The Guardian
- FA anniversay friendly at Wembley will honour English referees — The Telegraph
- Clint Dempsey out, John Anthony Brooks in for US friendly at Bosnia — Pro Soccer Talk
- Alejandro Bedoya makes it official – pens deal with FC Nantes — Pro Soccer Talk
Serie A
- Mario Balotelli in doubt for Champions League playoffs — The Guardian
Europa League
Football League
- Blackpool’s Tom Ince banned for two games for verbally abusing official — The Guardian
- Coventry City sell just 1,100 tickets for first game as fans refuse to travel to Northampton — The Mail
Russian Premier League
- Russian super club Anzhi Makhachkala scrambling in budget crisis — Pro Soccer Talk
The Nightly Soccer Report is tomorrow’s news today. It’s often tomorrow morning’s worldwide newspaper headlines that are published the night before. We do all the work for you, combing the Internet and aggregating the news for you. Read The Nightly Soccer Report on World Soccer Talk every night before bed, so you can stay on top of all the news that matters.
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