A look at what damage Suarez sale could do for Reds.Like last summer, Liverpool star Luis Suarez is the centre of everything again for all the wrong reasons. Despite enjoying a sensational season in the Premier League to almost guide his club to a long-awaited title, the Uruguayan has now attracted the wrath of fans and media pundits alike for his shocking behaviour in the 2014 World Cup.
Although the 27-year-old was once again the undisputed star of the show as he scored a superb brace to down England in Group D, he marred his fine performances with another controversial biting incident on Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini in his country’s final group game.
Coming just over a year after he attacked Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic in exactly the same way, this is, incredibly enough, the third bite of Suarez’s career, and another in a long list of disciplinary incidents involving the talented but troubled front-man.
With strong interest from Barcelona looming and an apparent desire from the player himself to move (again), it is no surprise to see many calling for Liverpool to simply cash in on Suarez now and get this difficult character away from Anfield. However, there would almost certainly be negative consequences from this decision, and here’s five reasons why the Reds should do everything they can to reject offers from other clubs and keep their star player for next season.
5) Liverpool mustn’t earn a reputation for being a selling club
Reputations are hard to shake off, and Liverpool are arguably already in the bracket of selling club after their decision to sell another of their previous star strikers Fernando Torres to Chelsea in 2011. As has been the case with Arsenal down the years, if you sell one star player as soon as a bigger club comes calling, it won’t be too long before they’re back for others, as they’ll know they have a chance of persuading you with the right amount of cash. It also strengthens the player’s sense that he will be able to get a move if he demands one, as was the case when Cesc Fabregas practically went on strike to force his exit from Arsenal. When you look at the other big names the Gunners have lost over the years (many to Barcelona, incidentally), it should serve as a warning for Liverpool that if they seriously want to build something at the club and get the glory years back, they must be strong in situations like this and tell the player in no uncertain terms that he is staying. When under contract, there’s not a lot they can do in response.
4) The money isn’t necessarily worth it – just ask Tottenham
It can be tempting for a club of any size to think, “Actually, let’s pocket the £80m and bring in an entire new squad”, but Liverpool should know from experience that this doesn’t always work. A large chunk of the £50m brought in from Torres’ sale ended up going on the likes of Andy Carroll, and later Stewart Downing and Charlie Adam. Yes, some of it also went on signing an arguably better replacement in Suarez, but when you spend that kind of money a success rate of one in four is not something to be that pleased about, and all three other flops later left the club on a huge, huge loss. These decisions weakened the team on the pitch and financially, even if they seemed sensible at the time, and that could be the case here too.
For a more recent example, see Tottenham Hotspurs’ situation with Gareth Bale last summer. They did well to hold out for an astronomical fee of £85m for the Welsh winger as he demanded a move to Real Madrid, but the money was once again badly spent on a whole raft of new signings, with arguably only Christian Eriksen looking like a remotely good investment, as the likes of Erik Lamela (£30m), Roberto Soldado (£26m) and numerous others all performed terribly in their first seasons at White Hart Lane.
3) Big-name players would rather join to play WITH him
Even if selling Suarez did bring in a huge amount to spend on new signings, chances are Liverpool would actually have a better chance of attracting the players they want and need – rather than just investing in a large number of replacement players – if they could keep Suarez around as something to tempt the big names with. Great players want to play with other great players, and there’s no doubt that the prospect of linking up with Suarez at Anfield could lure some truly world class performers to the club this summer, especially as they now have Champions League football on offer as well. Fans from all around Europe were dazzled by the stunning combination play of Suarez and Daniel Sturridge (SAS) this season, and what better way to convince a player to join than to offer them the chance to form part of that combination?
2) No other similar strikers currently available
It may seem easy to think that with £80m or more to spend on new attacking players, Liverpool could easily find another 30-goal-a-season striker for around £20-30m, but actually a lot of the biggest names upfront have already more or less sealed their moves for next season. Diego Costa, pictured above, has all but been confirmed as a £32m signing for Chelsea, Robert Lewandowski has already agreed his free transfer from Borussia Dortmund to Bayern Munich, Ciro Immobile has moved from Torino to Dortmund to replace the Polish front-man, and the other top scorers from around Europe such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are plainly not for sale. Moving away from those players, the next bracket of top scorers such as Carlos Tevez, Mario Mandzukic and Gonzalo Higuain are all very good, but certainly not in the same league as Suarez. All can score a good number of goals (though not as many), but none can provide the same spark or individual, match-winning moments of magic as the Uruguayan.
1) His darker side is part of his genius
As cliched as it is to say it, Suarez simply wouldn’t be the great, adventurous player that he is today if not for the darker side of his personality. That’s not to say that his repeated bad behaviour is at all acceptable, but as he is a one of a kind in terms of his ability, he is a one of a kind in his other eccentricities, and that kind of character can be useful in forming part of a winning team. Many of the great players and managers in history, and of course other legendary figures in other fields, have also had their flaws (Diego Maradonna, Brian Clough), but finding a way to channel that into something positive is a rather unique opportunity. Brendan Rodgers may never have the chance to work with a player or person like Suarez again in his career, and if he can work on his problems without crushing his spirit, he will definitely gain more than he would from selling him – for any price.
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