Luis Suárez during an interview for El País opened up about the rumours that locate him out of Barça, the painful defeat in Lisbon, the possibility of a new role as a substitute, among other things.
Barcelona is going through a transitional stage and the future of many of its personalities seems in the air, among them, Luis Suárez has been one of the names that seem to be further away from the club. After Lisbon and in the middle of a “remodelling” in the face of a new short-term project led by Ronald Koeman, there has been speculation about the Uruguayan’s possible departure.
The forward has a contract until 2021 and during his interview for El País, Suárez spoke about his scoring records and that numbers are often not everything.
“The goals are important in any team, but the demand in Barcelona is absolute. As a forward, I not only try to score goals but also help the team in other ways.”
On the speculations which state that Barça no longer counts him.
“There is talk of some names that the president gave, of changes that can be made, but nobody told me what they want to do without me; If this is the desire of the club, it would be good if the person in charge speaks directly to me. I’ve been at Barça for six years, enough time to say what they think. Better to tell rather than leak my name as one of the players they want to leave.”
“I also want the best for the club and my idea today is to continue, but if the club thinks I am expendable, I have no problem speaking with those who decide,” he added.
On a new role in the team as a substitute.
“I would accept it here as I always accept it in my career. Competition is always good and if the coach considers that I should start from the bench, I have no problem helping with the role they give me. I think I can still contribute a lot to this club.”
Luis Suárez assured that he would like to stay at the Catalan club: “As long as they count on me, I want to continue contributing with everything I can. I have felt the support of the people since I arrived and that also gives me a lot of strength to continue.”
The Uruguayan also mentioned that “not yet” he has spoken with the new Barça coach, the Barcelona legend, Ronald Koeman.
On the club’s ‘heavyweights’ and the responsibility it entails, the third top scorer in the club’s history explained what he thinks and what it means for him.
“When you talk about heavyweights, you look at everyone who has been at the club for the longest time. It is normal, but there is a lot of deception in all that because, in reality, everything changes from one year to the next. I don’t like to compare, each place is different, but I remember that in Madrid the year that Ajax eliminated them from the Champions League they said that Kroos was finished, they wanted to retire Modric, they said that Ramos was a disaster and suddenly no player was worthy. And the following year everything went better and again they were all phenomenal and formed a legendary team. And of course, they were and they are a great team, but the defeats, it is already known that shoots against everything and everyone.”
“It’s a shame because that’s the way it is, everyone has opinions on everything and above all, everyone judges very easily: what is white today, tomorrow is black and vice versa,” he continued.
“I honestly think that sometimes there is a lack of coherence, patience and above all memory. When there is a lack of knowledge or arguments to explain things in-depth, an easy and simple reason is usually taken, a phrase to repeat, but football is more complex.”
“And, on the other hand, being a friend of Leo is a pride for me, because there are no friends on the field, there are teammates and we are here to help each other with a common goal. And, off the pitch, I am extremely lucky to have as a friend an excellent person like Leo, a friendship that goes beyond playing together today, which is something circumstantial.”
On the painful 8-goal defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
“When it is lost as it was lost in Lisbon, we are all responsible. That is clear, it would not be fair to point at one player or someone from the club. Sometimes it does seem like you want to personalize, but I honestly think that nobody can question my commitment to Barcelona.”
“It was one of those days where everything went wrong. We were overwhelmed and did not know how to fix it. It is not an excuse but it has been a very strange year for everything, and of course, the format influences; Bayern adapted and mentalized much better for an atypical tie. Perhaps we came with some doubts and Bayern had everything very clear.”
“They are very good, very strong. In a two-legged tie, we will never know what would have happened; maybe they would also have eliminated us, I don’t know. But it is true that we at the Camp Nou get better and that playing away always takes a little more for us.”
After a complicated year troubled with injuries, Luis Suárez spoke about how he is doing:
“It was a very strange year, with stops. Rest is going to be better for me psychologically than physically. The day against Bayern, I noticed that I was fine, that I was already adjusting to the return, after the surgery.”
Finally, Luis Suárez already surpasses the mythical Ladislao Kubala in the list of the highest scorers in the history of Barcelona and was asked by El País, whether he should have a statue like the Hungarian striker at the Camp Nou.
“I don’t believe that. Kubala was a phenomenon. If my work is valued and everything I did and still do for the club is taken into account, it already makes me very happy. “
