Could former Liverpool star Luis Suarez really sign for Aston Villa?
Martin Macdonald
- 22 Jan 2022 12:45 GMT
- 3 min read
Atletico Madrid star Luis Suarez is reportedly considering a return to the Premier League with Aston Villa.
The Uruguayan played in England with Liverpool between 2011 and 2014 before completing a huge €82 million transfer to Barcelona, where he would go on to win the Champions League and four La Liga titles.
In the summer of 2020 he was surprisingly informed by Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman that his time at the club was over. That led to a switch to Atletico and Barca came to regret their treatment of the player as his goals helped fire the Spanish capital club to the league title.
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Suarez's relationship with Atletico has soured recently, though.
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In addition to their disappointing 2-1 defeat at Sevilla recently, Atletico left Andalusia with some tension in the air. That’s because Suarez was furious at being substituted off for Matheus Cunha in the 57th minute.
The Gol TV cameras caught the Uruguayan muttering “sh***y idiot” and “always the same” as he walked around the sidelines at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, having left the pitch behind the Sevilla goal.
This was believed to have been aimed at Diego Simeone.
Suarez's contract with Atletico expires in the summer, and according to Barcelona-based journalist Gerard Moreno, he has turned down offers in the hope that a move to Aston Villa may materalise.
Moreno tweeted:
“Luis Suarez has ruled out offers from Palmeiras, Corinthians and Atlético Mineiro - as well as one from Arabia - to focus on the proposal from Aston Villa from his former teammate Gerrard.”
Gerrard and Suarez's relationship
Steve Gerrard took over as Villa boss earlier this season and has already managed to bring in a huge name in the form of Philippe Coutinho due to the respect he holds among former team-mates.
The Englishman is hoping to use this again to get Suarez.
Gerrard previously described Suarez as the best footballer he has ever played with.
"I don't think anyone ever looks forward to playing against Luis Suarez, he is a fantastic talent and a very dangerous player," Gerrard told Barcelona's website.
"He is a fantastic team-mate, probably the best player I have played with.
"He's a good guy, a family man away from the pitch, we keep in touch and have supported each other throughout our careers."
