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Published 12:30 IST, February 12th 2021

Luis Suarez branded Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers ‘LIARS’ in texts to Steven Gerrard

Atletico Madrid superstar Luis Suarez was left fuming at his former club Liverpool in 2013 when they reportedly blocked his move away from Anfield.

Reported by: Arnold Dsouza
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Four-time LaLiga champion Luis Suarez was reportedly left fuming with his former club Liverpool during the period when it appeared as though the Uruguayan might move to Arsenal in the summer of 2013. The Gunners submitted an audacious bid of £40 million plus £1 for Suarez in an attempt to activate a clause in his Liverpool contract but the Reds rejected the offer. At the time, Suarez expressed his desire to leave the Merseyside club and sent Liverpool great Steven Gerrard an explosive text message, labelling the club and then-Reds manager Brendan Rodgers as 'liars'. 

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Luis Suarez slammed Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers in angry text message to Steven Gerrard

In the summer of 2013, Luis Suarez was coming off a campaign that had seen him score 23 times in the league for Liverpool, which earned him the club's Player of the Season award. Despite that, the Reds finished in 7th position on the league table, outside of the European places and with no cup runs of note to lean on under Brendan Rodgers. The Uruguayan hitman was becoming increasingly concerned about the club’s direction and was keen on playing in the Champions League.

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Arsenal, who consistently tasted European football under Arsene Wenger's reign, were made aware of a supposed clause in Suarez's contract that would ensure any bid of over £40m from a team in Europe’s top competition. In his autobiography, Wenger revealed that Arsenal had an agreement with Suarez and his agent but Liverpool blocked the move when the North London side offered a £40,000,001 bid for the player. 

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An unseemly war of words with Rodgers and Suarez played out in the media, as Suarez felt let down by the Northern Irishman’s accusations that Suarez had disrespected his teammates by accepting the offer. With the danger of losing the club’s biggest goalscoring threat to a Premier League rival becoming very real, Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard stepped in. A report in The Athletic claimed that Gerrard played a vital role in trying to keep Suarez at Anfield, despite the two not holding a close personal relationship prior to the transfer saga. 

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When Gerrard initially texted Suarez to make it clear that Liverpool were determined to keep him, El Pistolero responded to the message by stating that Liverpool and Rodgers were 'liars'. Suarez eventually agreed to stay at Liverpool after Gerrard diffused the tense situation between player and manager ahead of a season that saw the Reds come desperately close to the Premier League title. During the 2013/14 season, Suarez scored 31 times as Liverpool finished as runners-up to Man City and it earned him a move to Barcelona, where he won the Champions League in his debut season. 

Image Credits - Steven Gerrard Instagram

12:30 IST, February 12th 2021