The announcement of Luis Suarez’s big money move from Liverpool to Barcelona has certainly divided opinion amongst Reds fans.
Over the course of his three years at the club, the Uruguayan has led the side with aplomb in regards to his form and goalscoring exploits but his antics on the pitch have at times tarnished the club’s reputation.
First the racist language he used towards Patrice Evra, then his bite on Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic.
Both incidents resulted in a total of eighteen games on the sidelines and his latest misdemeanour in Brazil – where he was seen to bite Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini – has ultimately forced through an end to his time at Anfield.
Each moment of madness, intertwined with various pleas to leave the club, has soured a fine record at Liverpool which culminated in Suarez being named the PFA and Sports Writers’ player of the season for the 2013-14 Premier League season.
Dubai Liverpool Supporters Club (The Dubai Reds) secretary Neil Briody believes that, although the club cannot replace Suarez with a player in the same ilk, his time had come to an end and the club will be stronger as a result.
We all knew it was coming but had held on to the faint glimmer of hope that he may just give us one more season and help spearhead our first Champions League campaign in over 5 years,” Briody told Sport360°. “Without his contribution last season who knows we may never have been in this position and for that we must be grateful.
“It’s pretty clear now that this move was always going to happen with the signing of his new 5 year contract in December 2013 not so much about confirming his long term commitment to Liverpool but more about both sides making sure everything was crystal clear when Barcelona came calling in the summer.
“The World Cup biting incident in a way we believe lessened LFC’s resolve to try and fight to keep him but the reality is that LFC were probably pleased that this would be Barcelona’s problem now and not ours.”
Rather than dwell on losing their star man, Briody preferred to focus on the future, citing moves of former star strikers that failed to halt Liverpool’s progress.
“So we say a thank you to Luis Suarez for the memories and it may be a cliché but no one player is bigger than any club and this has always been the case for Liverpool Football Club.
“We lost Keegan carried on, lost Rush carried on, lost Owen carried on and lost Torres and bought Suarez – We go again.
“It will be impossible to find a straight like for like replacement for Suarez, he was unique some say a flawed genius but a genius none the less and one of the top three players in the world.
“With a Champions League campaign on the horizon it’s imperative that we strengthen the squad as a whole.
"That process has already started but with the addition of the Suarez money burning a hole in Brendan’s wallet we expect to see more quality and experienced additions to the squad – strengthening our defence must be a priority.”
