Lionel Messi. Sergio Busquets. Jordi Alba. And now, Luis Suárez. No, we didn’t travel back in time behind the wheel of a modified DeLorean to return to admire FC Barcelona in 2014. We are indeed in 2023, and these great names from Barça’s history will play together again in 2024. This time it will be at Inter Miami.
On Friday, Miami announced that Suárez will join his former teammates in Florida for the upcoming season. Informant Fabrizio Romano had indicated earlier in the day that the 36-year-old Uruguayan also has an option on his contract for 2025.
“I am very happy and excited by this new challenge with Inter Miami,” Suárez said in a press release. […] I will give everything to bring joy to these fans that I have heard so much about, and I can’t wait to be reunited with these great friends and players. »
Majority owner Jorge Mas says he is “happy to welcome the world-class striker” that is the Uruguayan international. “Luis is a fierce competitor whose desire to win represents what we look for in our players. We promised our fans that we would seek out the best players in the world to build a squad that could reach the highest levels of soccer in America. »
David Beckham, co-owner of the team, says he is “excited to have the quality and passion of a player like Luis at the club”. “He joins a team that inspires the next generation. We can’t wait to see him take to the pitch with his former teammates and our Academy players. »
This is another big move for the Herons. A marketing stunt, certainly. For the athlete, that remains to be determined, even if Suárez is still in very good offensive form.
The quartet played rain and shine – especially in good weather – at Barça between 2014 and 2020. The 4 won a total of 13 trophies together, including 4 La Liga titles in 6 years and that of the Champions League, in 2015. On a personal level, it was with the Catalans that Suárez was most lethal: 195 goals, 113 assists in 283 matches.
But these numbers were achieved at the peak of his career. Although he won La Liga again with Atlético Madrid in 2021, he has since returned to Uruguay to play for his boyhood club Nacional in 2022.
In 2023, he took charge of the Brazilian first division, with Grêmio. Despite his age, he does not appear to have lost his scoring touch: Suarez has 26 goals and 17 assists in 53 games in Brazil in 2023. He was named the best player and best striker in the Brazilian league, helping Grêmio win two titles .
So no, Suárez doesn’t just have the teeth of a glutton. And this, even if his past as a serial biter still sticks to him. This is what happens when you throw your fangs three (!) times at opponents during your career.
It happened for the first time in 2010, at the start of his professional career in Europe, while he was playing for Ajax Amsterdam. He was suspended seven games.
It happened a second time in 2013, during his good years at Liverpool. He was suspended 10 games for biting Branislav Ivanovic’s arm.
Then he couldn’t help but do it again the following year… on the biggest stage possible, at the World Cup. Uruguay faced Italy in the group stage. In the area, Suárez set his sights on the shoulder of Giorgio Chiellini. A ferocious attack that left marks.
He was suspended nine games for this action and was expelled from the tournament.
Suárez has a reputation as a villain for these actions and for having knocked down a Ghana shot with his hands on the goal line at the 2010 World Cup. Despite everything, it was thanks to his prowess that Uruguay won the prestigious Copa América in 2011. The striker is the most prolific player in his country’s history, with 68 goals and 138 appearances for La Celeste.
On this Friday in December, it is clear that his reunion with his former Barcelona teammates is romantic.
