Liverpool will aim to prove that no one, not even Luis Suárez, is indispensable after agreeing to sell the Uruguay striker to Barcelona for around £75m on Friday.
The only potential barrier to the deal’s completion is the need for the striker to pass a medical but that, as with the finalisation of personal terms, is expected to be a mere formality. By early next week Suárez, who has already passed a preliminary examination from a Barça club doctor in Montevideo, should be rubberstamped in a five-year deal as part of a formidable attack also featuring Lionel Messi and Neymar.
As Suárez is serving a four-month ban for biting Italy’s Giorgio Cheilliniat the World Cup in Brazil Barça contemplated a logistical conundrum regarding the “unveiling” of a man who scored 31 Premier League goals for Liverpool last season. Normally they introduce new recruits to the media and their fans at the Camp Nou yet Suárez’s ban precludes him from entering any football stadium. Accordingly he is now scheduled to be paraded at Auditorium 1899, a nearby club conference room, on Wednesday.
Allied to the player’s desire to relocate to Spain, this latest biting episode – the third of his career – and ensuing suspension persuaded Liverpool that £75m was a fair exchange for their troubled talent.
Brendan Rodgers will not care to reflect on Tottenham Hotspur’s struggles to cope without their former talisman, Gareth Bale, last season. For the moment at least, Liverpool’s manager is anxious to stress that his club are bigger than any individual player and, post-Suárez, the team can continue to go from strength to strength. Lazar Markovic, the 20-year-old Benfica winger, is due on Merseyside shortly to complete a £20m deal as Rodgers reshapes his squad. So far this summer he has reinforced his attack and midfield with the acquisition ofRickie Lambert and Adam Lallana from Southampton, while Emre Can, another midfielder, has joined from Bayer Leverkusen. With Divock Origi, the Lille midfielder, close to sealing a £6m switch, the Anfield shopping list also includes Dejan Lovren, the Southampton centre-half, and Alberto Moreno, the Sevilla left-back.
Although Rodgers has Fabio Borini back in his squad following the forward’s successful season-long loan at Sunderland it seems inconceivable he will not sign another striker, with Swansea’s prolific Wilfried Bony a possibility. Depending on who arrives, Borini could yet return to Wearside on a permanent basis.
At least Liverpool are not short of funds. Following a week of negotiations with Barça they are set to receive a club record transfer fee. While they wanted £80m and Barça offered £70m, a compromise which satisfied the terms of the release clause in Suárez’s contract was swiftly reached.
Although the possibility of Alexis Sánchez joining as a £30m makeweight appealed to Rodgers, that prospect died when the Chile striker exchanged Barça for Arsenal on Thursday. Within 24 hours the terms of a straight cash transaction for Suárez had been concluded.
“We would like to thank Luis for his contribution and the role he played in helping bring Champions League football back to Anfield,” read a club statement issued on Fridaylunchtime. “Everyone at Liverpool Football Club wishes Luis and his family well for the future.” Suárez, who will wear the No9 shirt at Barça, used a statement of his own to appeal to Liverpool supporters for understanding while playing the “family” card. “It is with a heavy heart that I leave for a new life and new challenges in Spain,” said the 27-year-old.
“Both me and my family have fallen in love with this club and with the city but most of all I have fallen in love with the incredible fans. You have always supported me and we, as a family, will never forget it, we will always be Liverpool supporters.
“I hope you can all understand why I have made this decision. This club did all they could to get me to stay, but playing and living in Spain, where my wife’s family live, is a lifelong dream and ambition. I believe now the timing is right.
“I wish Brendan Rodgers and the team well. The club is in great hands and I’m sure will be successful again next season. I am very proud I have played my part in helping to return Liverpool to the elite of the Premier League and in particular back into the Champions League. Thank you again for some great moments and memories. You’ll Never Walk Alone.” Suarez’s lawyer has described his Fifa imposed four-month biting ban as “draconian, totalitarian and fascist”, and claimed an appeal would be lodged with the court of arbitration for sport (Cas).
“The right of a footballer to work is being violated, and football should be worried about that,” said Alejandro Balbi. “The nine [international] games may seem excessive, but the fact that he can’t watch a game of football, or train or carry out his job, we are talking about unpleasant things. Luis recognised his error but we’ve seen that for Fifa saying sorry is not an important factor.
“Justice will take its time but it will come. We knew that Fifa would uphold the ban because they are corporatists. We will not stop, we are going to go to the Cas and we will keep taking the judicial path that is available to us.”
If Suárez does go to Cas, he could ask the court to suspend the ban pending adecision. Cas may refuse to do so but should it agree that could mean Suárez being available at the start of the season.
Yet asking the Cas effectively to place the suspension on hold seems a high-risk strategy considering the first month of his ban covers the close season. Should he lose any Cas case, Suárez could end up missing several more matches than originally envisaged.
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