11/21/24
July 11, 2014
Liverpool Sells Luiz Suarez to Barcelona: Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez is being transferred from Liverpool to Barcelona for a reported transfer fee around 80 million Euros. The 27-year-old serial biter is serving a four-month suspension from soccer as punishment for chomping Italy's Giorgio Chiellini during the World Cup. Barring his appeal, Suarez will miss 18 games for Barcelona, including three in the Champions League, one for Copa del Rey and nine in La Liga.
I'm a serial bider. One day when the time is right ...
posted by rcade at 10:14 AM on July 11, 2014
I bit something this morning and wished it was a chunk of that turncoat's ear. Liverpool's management should be ashamed of themselves for not pressuring Barcelona to make Sanchez come the other way, too.
posted by billsaysthis at 10:40 AM on July 11, 2014
Wouldn't that just mean a smaller transfer for Suarez, given that Sanchez's transfer value is established at 30 million pounds?
posted by rcade at 10:53 AM on July 11, 2014
Behavioral issues aside, Suarez has been a fantastic servant on the pitch for Liverpool. He's played so well that we made 50 million pounds on him. He carried us to second place last year. Tied the EPL goal scoring record. He almost single handedly gave us a much needed title. blah blah blah ...
I fear if the coming few years will be another decline from 2nd place and hope we can find someone to replace half of Suarez.
Go in peace Luis. YNWA!
posted by Ricardo at 01:59 PM on July 11, 2014
Don't cry for Liverpool. They still have some good pieces on the field (Sturridge, Sterling, et al), and 75 Million pounds will go a long way to replacing him. I don't expect decline unless management just pockets the money, and in that case a lynch mob would be in order.
posted by Howard_T at 04:39 PM on July 11, 2014
Typically astute of Suarez to head for Barcelona as they are on the slide, while Liverpool are on the way up. If he sees out all 5 of his contracted seasons, I will eat my hat
posted by Fat Buddha at 06:25 PM on July 11, 2014
The money would go a long way to replacing him if there were a player available that could actually replace him. Sanchez was one such and we did not get him; I'm not saying don't let Suarez go, although he ought to have been a man about it rather than biting Chiellini and using his father-in-law as a mouthpiece, but that LFC ought to have stood stronger to Barcelona.
Yes Sturridge, Sterling, Lallana, Coutinho are all very good but none can step in and scare central defenders for 90 minutes, with any movement taking the defenders' eyes off the ball. Yes we have plenty of cash to splash, but we had that anyway from the increased TV money and Champions League.
The issue is that qualifying for the Champions League next season will be crucial because that TV contract is going up massively and if you aren't in it next season you will be a have not for many years absent a ManU Moyesian slip up. Keeping Suarez one more season would have almost certainly ensured LFC qualify again, losing him makes that a much dicier proposition.
posted by billsaysthis at 12:12 PM on July 12, 2014
That suspension was going to take a big bite out of his EPL season, though.
posted by rcade at 12:19 PM on July 12, 2014
And it will take a big bite of his La Liga season too. But he missed a relatively similar chunk this past season and faded towards the end and still was crucial to the second place by a hair finish.
Let's say Sturridge goes from 22 to 25 goals, Sterling goes from nine to say 15 goals, and Lallana puts in 12 (compared to the seven scored by Coutinho, Moses and Allen). That's 11 goals--who are LFC buying that plays in the front two (or three in a 4-3-3) that scores 20 times his first season in the EPL (or at least with LFC)? And that's assuming Gerrard gets so many PKs he scores 13 again, since Suarez drew quite a few of those.
posted by billsaysthis at 12:25 PM on July 12, 2014
Our daughter is just getting to the cereal biter stage. They're so cute at that age.