There are few players in Liverpool’s history who could match Luis Suarez for drama.
The Uruguayan forward’s three-and-a-half seasons at Anfield may only have yielded a solitary League Cup winner’s medal, but his stint on Merseyside was littered with sensational goals, performances and controversy in equal measure. When the player nicknamed ‘El Pistolero’ wasn’t being suspended for one reason or another, he was banging in goal after goal, each one more outrageous than the last, as former Norwich City goalkeeper John Ruddy would surely testify.
Despite the apparent baggage that came with Suarez, his stock in European football soared at Anfield. And with the talisman figuring in what was, initially at least, a pretty underwhelming Liverpool team, other sides became very interested in prising him away from Merseyside.
One of those team’s was Premier League rivals Arsenal, who, a decade ago, were very much a fixture club in the Champions League under Arsene Wenger. Suarez was known to be somewhat disillusioned by Liverpool’s seventh-placed finish the season before and fancied the move.
Encouraged to go and get their man, The Gunners had a first offer of £30million plus £5million in add-ons rejected by the Reds, but if Liverpool took a dim view of that offer, that was nothing compared to the subsequent counter proposal. The North London outfit were under the impression that Suarez had a release clause in his contract that was triggered if any club bid more than £40million for him.
Armed with this knowledge, and knowing Suarez had virtually agreed to the deal, Arsenal returned with a fresh offer put forward to the Reds – £40million plus £1. As cheeky as it appeared, the Gunners had surely met the club’s requirements? The only problem was that the alleged release clause didn’t actually exist. Or if it did, Liverpool simply refused to play ball.
Instead, Liverpool insisted they simply had to inform Suarez of any interest, not actually sell the striker.
Arsenal’s offer prompted a public response from Liverpool’s principle owner John Henry, in what would become a legendary social media quip across world football.
Writing on Twitter, Henry said: “What do you think they’re smoking over there at Emirates?”
