Luis Suárez Reveals Why Steven Gerrard Convinced Him To Reject A Move To Arsenal

Luis Suárez has admitted that Steven Gerrard played a major part in stopping him from moving to Arsenal in 2013.

The Gunners were interested in signing the Barcelona striker during his time at Anfield, with many fans remembering how the club triggered his £40m release clause by going £1 over it.

Well, Suárez has said that he was open to moving to the London club, but the Liverpool legend handed him some advice that seemed to work out in the long run.

"We qualified for the UEFA Europa League, but the season ended badly," he told Otro (via Football.London).

"I'm about to go to Arsenal, forcing myself to go, and Steven tells me: 'I promise that if you stay this year, you're going to take off and next year you'll go to Bayern [Munich], Barcelona, Real Madrid or whichever one you want, but stay this year because you won't be better off at Arsenal.'

"This was the last conversation I had with Gerrard at that moment and I told my agent that I had made my decision and I was staying.

"His words convinced me in that moment. They came from a person who cared for me, who wanted my well-being, who saw me suffer during training and saw me sad.

"They were words from a true captain that had an impact in that moment and helped me a lot."

And the rest, as they say, is history.

The 32-year-old Uruguayan striker spent three years at Liverpool, making 110 appearances for the club and scoring on 69 occasions.

Suárez left the club in 2014 to complete a move to Barcelona and has continued to be a deadly threat in front of the net.

With 156 appearances for the Spanish club, the Uruguay international has built a strong relationship with Barça captain Lionel Messi and has scored 127 times so far.

Suárez showed his brilliant ability in front of the net last month against Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey, while he recently showcased a fancy bit of skill against Lyon in the Champions League earlier this week.

Will Barcelona reach the final of the Champions League this season?

Let us know in the comments.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Liverpool, Football News, Anfield, gunners, Football, Barcelona, Luis Suarez, Premier League, Arsenal, Champions League, Steven Gerrard, La Liga

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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