Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has revealed his reaction to the signing of Luis Suarez from Ajax back in 2011.
The Uruguay international shone at Ajax but was arguably yet to really show what he could do at the very highest level, though he quickly established himself as a truly world class performer in the Premier League.
Suarez ended up being a great signing by Liverpool, and it seems even Carragher was stunned at the time that the Reds managed to get the forward ahead of other top clubs.
“When Luis first came to the club my reaction was, ‘Oh my god, how have we managed to get him?!’,” Carragher told The Athletic.
He added: “Luis lifted Liverpool from a dark place when (Fernando) Torres left. Torres was as good as anyone in his pomp and you wondered how we were going to be able to bring someone in of a similar calibre. But Luis didn’t just live up to what Torres achieved, he surpassed it.
“Luis provided a real shining light alongside Steven Gerrard. He gave everyone hope that better days were around the corner. We got to two cup finals the following season and Luis played a massive part. He then went to the next level when Liverpool went so close to winning the title in 2013-14.
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“Luis was the best player in the Premier League and so crucial in revitalising Liverpool.”
Suarez would later leave Liverpool for a big move to Barcelona, where he only continued to improve as he formed a world class front three alongside Lionel Messi and Neymar, helping Barca to win the treble in the 2014/15 season.
The 34-year-old remains one of the finest attacking players in the world on his day, having scored 21 goals in 32 league games last season to fire Atletico Madrid to the La Liga title.
Don’t care how or why he left, bring Suarez back to Liverpool, he’s sure to put more bite into their style of play!!! 🙂
What a great striker. Maybe the best with Levandowski. He deserves even more credit but he had alongside the great Messi.