Former Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has admitted it would have been a “big error” to leave Anfield in order to join Arsenal during the summer of 2013. The Barcelona player also admitted holding conversations with Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard about the possible move, and the Uruguay international gave Gerrard credit for convincing him to wait for a bigger club.
“It would have been a big error that I would have made had it not been for Steven Gerrard,” Suarez admits. “We spoke about this when I went to Melwood to pick up my things at the end of the summer [following his transfer to Barcelona] and he said: ‘You did the right thing, you waited until the best moment.'”
“He had told me to play well for Liverpool, give it another year and it will be Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Barcelona coming for you and then you can go where you want because you have the quality to play at any of those three clubs.”
Some supporters may not be happy with Gerrard for giving the Uruguayan this advice. But the Liverpool captain did what was best for his club knowing that Suarez had been nearing an exit from Anfield for quite some time. By convincing the striker to stay, Liverpool ended up finishing second-place to Manchester City and qualifying for the Champions League last season.
