'Wanted to sign for Arsenal': Suarez reveals how Gerrard convinced him to stay at Anfield

Uruguayan footballer Luis Suarez had a fantastic few seasons in the Premier League at Liverpool but there was a time at Anfield when he wanted a move away to Arsenal. In a recent interview with UEFA's official website, Suarez spoke about the time he wanted to leave and how then Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard was the person that convinced him to stay on for another season which they ended up doing very well as they narrowly missed the Premier League title.

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Suarez said that he had been at Liverpool for about a year and a half when Brendan Rodgers took over as manager. Suarez had many opportunities to sign for other clubs who were getting in contact with him but Rodgers phoned Suarez when he was in Uruguay on holiday, to tell him that he had another way of thinking, that he wanted to change the club and its philosophy which convinced the Urugaun international to stay another season. However, that did not work out for them as Liverpool finished seventh and Suarez revealed that he wanted to join Arsenal as they had continuously finished in a Champions League spot over the past few years.

Suarez told UEFA.com ahead of Atletico's UCL clash with his former club, "He asked me to believe and trust him. I enjoyed that chat. I liked his conviction, the philosophy he wanted to implement at the club, so I talked to my agent and the club to say that I didn't want to leave, that I wanted another opportunity to be successful at Liverpool. That year wasn't as good as we wanted, but ideas were already pretty clear. So then the 2012/13 season goes by, and I wanted to sign for Arsenal, since Arsenal had played in the Champions League every season prior to that."

Gerrard and Rodgers convinced Suarez to stay

Suarez then said that Steven Gerrard spoke to him and he is the one that convinced him to stay. Suarez in the interview revealed that in the conversation he told Gerrard that he wanted to be successful ad play in the Champions League to which Gerrard replied that if he stayed and the team improved like they had been doing, a year later Suarez could be playing for one of the top teams in Europe like Bayern Munchen, Real Madrid, Barcelona, or whatever club he liked but he'll have to choose to stay for one more year. He said that Rodgers also was convincing him and he stayed on which then led to their fantastic season where they narrowly missed out on the Premier League title.

"I had some further discussions with the coach, as well as with Gerrard. He was the one that convinced me. I told him I wanted to keep being successful, that I wanted to play in the Champions League. So, he said to me, 'If this year we keep improving as we have been, and you're at the level you have to be, next year you'll be able to play for Bayern München, Real Madrid, Barcelona, or whatever club you like. You'll have the chance to choose, but stay for one more year'."

(Image: AP)