Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugb ...
who plays as a
striker for
Uruguayan Primera División
The Liga Profesional de Primera División (American Spanish , en, First Division Professional League, local: , ''First Division''), named "Torneo Uruguayo Copa Coca-Cola" for sponsorship reasons, is the highest professional football league in Uru ...
club
Nacional and the
Uruguay national team. Nicknamed ''El Pistolero'' ('The Gunman'), he is known for his passing, finishing and comfort with the ball. Suárez is regarded as one of the best players of his generation and one of the greatest strikers of all time. Suárez has won two
European Golden Shoe
The European Golden Shoe, also known as European Golden Boot, is an award that is presented each season to the leading goalscorer in league matches from the top division of a European national league. The trophy is a sculpture of a football boot. ...
s, an
Eredivisie Golden Boot, a
Premier League Golden Boot, and the
Pichichi Trophy
In Spanish football, the Trofeo Pichichi is awarded by the sports newspaper '' Marca'' to the top goalscorer of each La Liga season. Named after the Athletic Bilbao striker Rafael "Pichichi" Moreno, the trophy has been awarded annually since the ...
. He has scored
over 500 career goals for club and country.
Suárez began his senior club career at Nacional in 2005. At age 19, he signed for
Groningen
Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of t ...
, before transferring to
Ajax
Ajax may refer to:
Greek mythology and tragedy
* Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea
* Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris
* ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...
in 2007. There, he won the
KNVB Cup
The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...
and the
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is ...
. In 2011, Suárez signed for
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
club
Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
, and won the
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
in his first full season. In 2014, he equalled the goalscoring record for a 38-game Premier League season and won his first European Golden Shoe. That summer, Suárez moved to
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
in a transfer worth £64.98 million (€82.3 million), making him one of the
most expensive players of all time.
Dubbed ''MSN'', Suárez was part of a dominant trio alongside
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the g ...
and
Neymar
Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (born 5 February 1992), known as Neymar, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Brazil national team. A prolific goalscorer and renowned ...
, winning the
treble of
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Banco Santander, Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaL ...
, the
Copa del Rey
The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...
and the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
in his first season. In his second season, he won the
Pichichi Trophy
In Spanish football, the Trofeo Pichichi is awarded by the sports newspaper '' Marca'' to the top goalscorer of each La Liga season. Named after the Athletic Bilbao striker Rafael "Pichichi" Moreno, the trophy has been awarded annually since the ...
and his second European Golden Shoe, becoming the first player since 2009 to win both awards other than Messi or
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pl ...
. He also led La Liga in assists, becoming the first player to do so in both goals and assists in league history.
With Barcelona, Suárez won ten additional trophies, including three La Liga titles and three
Copas del Rey. He signed for
Atlético Madrid
Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based i ...
in 2020, winning his fifth La Liga title in his debut season.
At international level, Suárez is both Uruguay's
all-time leading goalscorer, as well as the all-time top scorer of
FIFA World Cup qualifiers in
CONMEBOL
The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL, , or CSF; es, Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol; pt, Confederação Sul-Americana de Futebol) is the continental governing body of football in South America (apart from Guyana, Surina ...
. He has represented his nation at four editions of the
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...
and four editions of the
Copa América
The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...
, as well as the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...
and the
2013 FIFA Confederations Cup
The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup was the ninth FIFA Confederations Cup, which was held in Brazil from 15 to 30 June 2013 as a prelude to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The most recent winners of the six continental championships appeared in the tour ...
. He was named in the
2010 World Cup
, image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg
, size = 200px
, caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
All-Star Team and won the
2011 Copa América
The 2011 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, better known as the 2011 Copa América or the Copa América 2011 Argentina, was the 43rd edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South Americ ...
, where he was awarded
Best Player. Outside of his football credentials, Suárez has been a source of controversy throughout his career, including a goal-line handball
against Ghana at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, biting opponents on three occasions, accusations of
diving,
and racial incidents.
Club career
Youth
Suárez lived his early years at the Cerro neighbourhood in
Salto, where he played youth football at Sportivo Artigas. At age seven, he moved with his family (parents and six brothers) to Montevideo, where he played youth football at Urreta. When he was a child, a car ran over his foot, breaking the
fifth metatarsal bone
The fifth metatarsal bone is a long bone in the foot, and is palpable along the distal outer edges of the feet. It is the second smallest of the five metatarsal bones. The fifth metatarsal is analogous to the fifth metacarpal bone in the hand.
As ...
. In spite of the injury, he continued to play.
Nacional
Suárez joined local side
Nacional's youth team at age 14.
At age 16, Suárez
headbutt
A headbutt is a targeted strike with the head, typically (when intentional) involving the use of robust parts of the headbutter's cranium as the area of impact. The most effective headbutts strike the most sensitive areas of an opponent, such as ...
ed a referee after showing his discontent following a red card, although a sports editor claimed he "accidentally fell into the referee".
One night, he was caught drinking and partying, prompting his coach to threaten he would never play unless he started playing football more seriously.
In May 2005, at age 18, Suárez made his first-team debut against
Atlético Junior
Club Deportivo Popular Junior F.C. S.A. (), commonly known as Junior de Barranquilla, by its old name Atlético Junior, or simply as Junior, is a Colombian professional football team based in Barranquilla, that currently plays in the Categoría ...
in the
Copa Libertadores
The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...
.
He scored his first goal in September 2005
and helped Nacional win the
2005–06 Uruguayan league with 10 goals in 27 matches.
Suárez was found by a group of scouts from the Dutch club
Groningen
Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of t ...
when they were in Uruguay to scout another player. As they watched, he won and converted a penalty and scored a "wonder goal" against
Defensor
Defensor (Latin, 'one who defends') may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Defensor (comics), a character in ''Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions''
* Defensor (''Transformers''), a character in the media franchise
People
*Defensor, a ...
. After watching only that match, the scouts approached Suárez and said they wanted to buy him, and after the season, Groningen paid Nacional €800,000 for him.
Suárez was thrilled to go to Europe because his then girlfriend, and now wife, Sofía Balbi, had moved to
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
; they had maintained a long-distance relationship for a year and he wanted to move closer to her.
Groningen
Suárez was 19 years old when he joined Groningen. Initially, Suárez struggled because he could not speak Dutch or English, and he played on the second team to adjust to the Dutch game.
His teammate and fellow Uruguayan,
Bruno Silva, helped him settle into living in the Netherlands and playing for a new team.
He worked hard to learn Dutch and his teammates respected him for his efforts with the language.
Suárez scored goals for Groningen, but he also had disciplinary problems; in one five-game stretch in January 2007, he scored four goals but received three
yellow cards and one
red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction.
Red card may also refer to:
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers
* Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or dia ...
.
Suárez especially made his mark in a 4–3 home win over
Vitesse, when with ten minutes to go he subsequently won a penalty and scored two goals. Suárez ended with 10 goals in 29 league appearances
to help Groningen finish eighth in the
2006–07 Eredivisie
The 2006–07 Eredivisie season began on August 18, 2006. The season saw PSV Eindhoven quickly building a gap with the other teams. After 20 matches, the club was 11 points ahead of AZ and 12 points ahead of Ajax. The lead quickly dissipated in ...
.
He also scored in a 4–2 loss to Serbian club
Partizan in his
European debut on 14 September 2006.
Ajax
Ajax may refer to:
Greek mythology and tragedy
* Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea
* Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris
* ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...
saw potential in Suárez and offered Groningen €3.5 million for him, but Groningen rejected the offer.
Suárez was upset and brought his case to the
Royal Dutch Football Association
The Royal Dutch Football Association (, ; KNVB ) is the governing body of football in the Netherlands. It organises the main Dutch football leagues (Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie), the amateur leagues, the KNVB Cup, and the Dutch men's and wom ...
(KNVB)'s arbitration committee to try to facilitate the sale.
The arbitration committee ruled against him on 9 August 2007, but that same day, Ajax increased their offer to €7.5 million and Groningen accepted.
Ajax
2007–09: Development and breakthrough
On 9 August 2007 Suárez signed a five-year contract with Ajax, for a transfer fee of €7.5 million,
and made his club debut in the
UEFA Champions League qualifier against
Slavia Prague.
He scored one goal in his Eredivisie debut for the club
and two goals in his home debut at the
Amsterdam Arena
The Johan Cruyff Arena ( nl, Johan Cruijff Arena ; officially stylised as Johan Cruijff ArenA) is the main stadium of the Dutch capital city of Amsterdam and the home stadium of football club AFC Ajax since its opening. Built from 1993 to 1996 ...
. Ajax finished second in the league table in the
2007–08 season and Suárez scored 17 goals in 33 league appearances, setting up a blossoming striking partnership with league top scorer
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.
During the
2008–09 season, Ajax head coach
Marco van Basten
Marcel "Marco" van Basten (; born 31 October 1964) is a Dutch football manager and retired professional player, who played for Ajax and AC Milan, as well as the Netherlands national team, as a striker. Widely regarded as one of the greatest ...
noted how Suárez played an important role in many of Ajax's goals, but van Basten was also upset by the number of yellow cards Suárez received.
Suárez was suspended for one match because he was given his seventh yellow card of the season against
Utrecht
Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...
in a 2–0 win. He was also suspended after a half-time altercation with teammate
Albert Luque
Albert Luque Martos (born 11 March 1978) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a left winger or striker.
His 14-year professional career was mainly associated with Mallorca and Deportivo, and he amassed La Liga totals of 248 matches a ...
over a
free kick
A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play.
Association football
In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offe ...
.
Ajax ended the season in third place. Suárez scored 22 goals in 31 league matches
and finished second in scoring tables, one goal behind
Mounir El Hamdaoui
Mounir El Hamdaoui ( ar, منير الحمداوي; born 14 July 1984) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. Born in the Netherlands, he represented Morocco internationally.
He played for clubs such as Tottenham Hotspur, ...
of
AZ. Suárez was also named Ajax Player of the Year.
2009–10: League top goalscorer, Eredivisie winner
Before the
2009–10 season,
Martin Jol
Maarten Cornelis "Martin" Jol (born 16 January 1956) is a Dutch football manager and former midfielder. He played over 400 games during his career which included spells in the Netherlands, Germany, and England, as well as earning three caps wit ...
replaced Van Basten as head coach.
After the departure of Ajax captain
Thomas Vermaelen to
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...
, Jol named Suárez team captain.
Suárez started scoring goals early in the season with a hat-trick in a 4–1 win against
RKC Waalwijk. He had a number of multiple-goal matches throughout the season, including four in wins over
Slovan Bratislava in the
UEFA Europe League play-off round,
VVV-Venlo
VVV-Venlo (, ''VVV'' stands for ''Venlose Voetbal Vereniging'' meaning "Venlo Football Club") is a Dutch football club from Venlo, a city on the border with Germany. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, followi ...
and
Roda JC. He scored three in the first half in another win over VVV-Venlo and six against
WHC Wezep in the
KNVB Cup
The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...
as Ajax won by a club-record margin of 14–1.
Suárez scored two goals in the
second leg of the KNVB Cup final and finished as the tournament's top scorer.
Ajax won the Cup final 6–1 on
aggregate
Aggregate or aggregates may refer to:
Computing and mathematics
* collection of objects that are bound together by a root entity, otherwise known as an aggregate root. The aggregate root guarantees the consistency of changes being made within the ...
over
Feyenoord
Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after i ...
,
but they finished second in the league behind
Twente
Twente ( nl, Twente , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Ge ...
.
Suárez ended the season as the Eredivisie's top scorer with 35 goals in 33 matches, and had 49 goals in all competitions.
He was named Ajax Player of the Year for the second straight year
and
Dutch Footballer of the Year The title Dutch Footballer of the Year ( Dutch: ''Voetballer van het Jaar'') has been awarded in the Netherlands since 1984. The award is determined by a poll of Dutch professional footballers playing in the First ( Eredivisie) and Second ( Eerste D ...
.
2010–11: First biting incident
Soon after Suárez returned from his World Cup campaign, he scored his 100th goal for Ajax in a 1–1 home draw against
PAOK in a
UEFA Champions League qualifier.
This put him in an elite group of players, including
Johan Cruyff
Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (, internationally known as Johan Cruyff; 25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Cruyff was a p ...
, Marco van Basten and
Dennis Bergkamp
Dennis Nicolaas Maria Bergkamp (; born 10 May 1969) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. Originally a wide midfielder, Bergkamp was moved to main striker and then to second striker, where he remained throughout his playin ...
, to score 100 or more goals with the club.
Suárez continued his scoring run with a hat-trick against
De Graafschap
VBV De Graafschap () is a professional football club from Doetinchem, Netherlands, playing in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football.
It was formed on 1 February 1954 and they play their home games at the De Vijverberg stadium ...
in a 5–0 win.
On 20 November 2010, Suárez bit
PSV's
Otman Bakkal
Otman Bakkal (born 27 February 1985) is a Dutch retired international footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.
He began his career at PSV, and was loaned to Den Bosch, Eindhoven, Twente and Feyenoord. After making a permanent move to D ...
on the shoulder during a 0–0 draw. Ajax suspended him for two matches and fined him an undisclosed amount, which the club said they would donate to a "good cause". The Dutch daily newspaper ''
De Telegraaf
''De Telegraaf'' (; en, The Telegraph) is the largest Dutch daily morning newspaper. Haro Kraak,Gaat Paul Jansen de crisis bij De Telegraaf oplossen?, ''de Volkskrant'', 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015. Paul Jansen has been the editor-in-chief s ...
'' branded Suárez the "Cannibal of Ajax".
The KNVB increased Suárez's suspension to seven league matches. Suárez apologised for his actions through a video he uploaded to his
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...
page.
Liverpool
Transfer
During the suspension, Ajax were in contact with other European clubs interested in Suárez. On 28 January 2011, they accepted a €26.5 million (
£22.8 million) offer for Suárez from
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
club
Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
.
Despite leaving while suspended, Suárez departed Ajax on good terms, and he was given a farewell sendoff after an Ajax match. During the sendoff, an Ajax coach spoke to him and the crowd and said how the club wished he could stay longer; the crowd applauded their agreement and fireworks followed. Ajax ended the
2010–11 season as Eredivisie champions and Suárez was given a winner's medal
for his 7 goals in 13 appearances.
On 31 January 2011, Suárez signed a five-and-a-half-year deal with Liverpool until 2016,
and was the club's most expensive signing (£22.8 million) until the arrival of
Andy Carroll (£35 million) a few hours later.
Suárez requested the number seven shirt, which had been worn by Liverpool legends
Kenny Dalglish
Sir Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish (born 4 March 1951) is a Scottish former football player and manager. During his career, he made 338 appearances for Celtic and 515 for Liverpool, playing as a forward, and earned a record 102 full caps for th ...
, his new manager,
Kevin Keegan
Joseph Kevin Keegan (born 14 February 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. A forward, he played for several professional clubs from 1968 to 1984. Having begun his career at Scunthorpe United, he moved to Liverpool in 1971 a ...
, and
Peter Beardsley
Peter Andrew Beardsley MBE (born 18 January 1961) is an English football coach and former footballer who played as a forward or midfielder between 1979 and 1999.
In 1987, he set a record transfer fee in the English game and represented his co ...
2011–12: Early seasons
Suárez made his Liverpool debut on 2 February against
Stoke City
Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...
at
Anfield
Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 ...
in a 2–0 win; he came on as a substitute and scored Liverpool's second goal in front of the
Kop in the 79th minute.
He was one of Liverpool's best players during his partial season
and helped Liverpool go from 12th in the league in mid-January
to finish sixth.
He finished the
2010–11 season with four goals in 13 games.
After winning the Player of the Tournament at the
2011 Copa América
The 2011 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, better known as the 2011 Copa América or the Copa América 2011 Argentina, was the 43rd edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South Americ ...
, Suárez had a disappointing
2011–12 season by his standards.
Liverpool finished in eighth place and Suárez scored 11 league goals.
On 26 February, Liverpool won the
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
, defeating
Cardiff City
Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...
in a penalty shootout.
On 28 April, Suárez scored his first Liverpool
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three w ...
in a 3–0 win against
Norwich City at
Carrow Road
Carrow Road is an association football stadium located in Norwich, Norfolk, England, and is the home of EFL Championship side Norwich City. The stadium is located toward the east of the city, near Norwich railway station and the River Wensum.
...
. He finished sixth for the
2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or
The 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala was the second year for FIFA's awards for the top football players and coaches of the year. The awards were given out in Zürich on 9 January 2012, with Lionel Messi claiming the title of world player of the year for ...
.
Racial abuse incident
The season was marked by an incident in which Suárez was found guilty by a three-man panel from
The Football Association
The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...
(FA) of racially abusing
Patrice Evra during a match against
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
in October; he was issued an eight-match suspension and a £40,000 fine.
Suárez disputed this decision.
After a 1–1 draw against Manchester United on 15 October 2011, Suárez was accused of racially abusing Evra,
and the FA opened up an investigation into the incident.
Suárez wrote on his
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
and Facebook pages that he was upset by the accusation and denied the claims. On 16 November, the FA announced it would charge Suárez with "abusive and/or insulting words and/or behaviour contrary to FA rules", including "a reference to the ethnic origin and/or colour and/or race of Patrice Evra". Liverpool later released a statement announcing Suárez would plead innocent, adding they would "remain fully supportive" of him. On 20 December, the FA concluded a seven-day hearing, handing Suárez an eight-match ban and a £40,000 fine for racially abusing Evra.
In their next meeting in February, during the pregame handshakes, Suárez avoided shaking Evra's hand, for which Suárez and Dalglish were later forced to apologise. Suárez was also banned for one match for
making an obscene gesture towards
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswor ...
fans.
2012–13: Return and individual success
On 7 August 2012, Suárez signed a new long-term contract with Liverpool. On 26 August, he scored his first goal of the
2012–13 season in a 2–2 draw with champions
Manchester City
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
at Anfield. On 29 September 2012, Suárez scored a hat-trick in Liverpool's Premier League fixture away at
Norwich City for the second consecutive season.
On 6 January 2013, Suárez handled the ball before scoring the decisive goal in Liverpool's 2–1 win over
Mansfield Town
Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ye ...
from the
Conference National
The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-professi ...
in an
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...
third round match. Liverpool's manager
Brendan Rodgers
Brendan Rodgers (born 26 January 1973) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Premier League club Leicester City.
Rodgers began his career as a defender at Ballymena United, where he stayed ...
defended his player by claiming "it's not his job to own up", while Mansfield manager
Paul Cox said he felt "a little bit gutted" by the "instinctive" handball, but admitted he would have accepted a goal scored like that by one of his players.
On 19 January, Suárez scored his seventh goal in three matches against Norwich, as Liverpool cruised to a 5–0 home league victory. The following week, Suárez captained Liverpool for the first time for the FA Cup fourth round match against
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The history of Oldham Athletic be ...
; Liverpool lost 2–3. On 2 March, Suárez scored a hat-trick against
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
, leading Liverpool to a dominant 4–0 victory at the
DW Stadium
The DW Stadium is a stadium in Robin Park, in Wigan, within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The ground is owned and managed by Wigan Football Company Limited, which is 85% owned by Wigan Athletic and 15% owned ...
. In so doing, he became only the third Liverpool player to score 20 Premier League goals in a single season after
Robbie Fowler
Robert Bernard Fowler (born 9 April 1975) is an English football manager and former player, who most recently managed East Bengal in the Indian Super League.
As a player, he was a striker, and is the eighth-highest goalscorer in the history ...
and
Fernando Torres. On 10 March, Suárez scored his 50th goal in all competitions since joining ''the Reds'' by scoring the opener in a 3–2 home victory over
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
, ending Spurs' 12-match unbeaten run. He was also named man of the match for his performance after he won the decisive penalty which
Steven Gerrard
Steven George Gerrard (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and former player, who most recently managed club Aston Villa. Described by pundits and fellow professionals as one of his generation's greatest players, ...
converted.
At the end of the season, Suárez was one of six players named on the shortlist for
PFA Players' Player of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Men's Players' Player of the Year (often called the PFA Men's Players' Player of the Year, the Players' Player of the Year, or simply the Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is ...
. Suárez finished second in the final ballot behind
Gareth Bale
Gareth Frank Bale (born 16 July 1989) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC and the Wales national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wingers of his generation ...
of Tottenham
and was named in the
PFA Team of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premi ...
.
He was second-
top goalscorer in the Premier League for
2012–13 with 23 goals and Liverpool's top scorer in all competitions with 30 goals. On 28 May 2013, he was named as Liverpool's player of the season after receiving 64% of votes in a poll of the club's supporters.
Second biting incident
On 21 April 2013, during a 2–2 draw with
Chelsea in a Premier League match at Anfield, Suárez bit
Branislav Ivanović
Branislav Ivanović ( sr-Cyrl, Бранислав Ивановић, ; born 22 February 1984) is a Serbian former professional footballer. A versatile defender, Ivanović played as a right back, although he can also play as a centre back.
Ivano ...
; this was the second time Suárez had bitten an opponent.
It was not noticed by the officials, and Suárez scored an equaliser in injury time.
The bite prompted
UK Prime Minister David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
to call on the FA to take a hard line with Suárez: the FA charged him with violent conduct and he was fined an undisclosed sum by his club.
Contrary to claims from Suárez, Ivanović did not accept an apology.
Suárez accepted the violent conduct charge but denied the FA's claim the standard punishment of three matches was clearly insufficient for his offence. A three-man independent panel appointed by the FA decided on a ten-game ban for Suárez, who did not appeal the ban; the panel criticised Suárez for not appreciating "the seriousness" of the incident when he argued against a long ban. The panel also wanted to send a "strong message that such deplorable behaviours do not have a place in football", while noting that "all players in the higher level of the game are seen as role models, have the duty to act professionally and responsibly, and set the highest example of good conduct to the rest of the game – especially to young players".
On 31 May 2013, Suárez said he would be seeking an exit from Liverpool in the summer, citing excessive media attention on his family as a reason for wanting to leave. On 6 August, after Liverpool had rejected a bid of
£40,000,001 for the player from Arsenal, Suárez reiterated his wish to leave Liverpool and said Liverpool had previously promised to allow him a transfer if the club failed to qualify for the
2013–14 UEFA Champions League
The 2013–14 UEFA Champions League was the 59th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 22nd season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League.
The final was p ...
. The following day, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said Liverpool had not broken any promises to Suárez and that the player had shown "total disrespect" for the club.
After this incident, the British press reported that Suárez had been instructed to train away from the Liverpool first-team squad by Rodgers.
On 8 August, Liverpool owner
John W. Henry stated that Suárez would not be allowed to leave the club.
2013–14: European Golden Shoe and departure
On 14 August, Suárez reversed his position about wanting to leave the club, with reports stating he wanted to stay at the club and that he was possibly going to sign a contract extension, citing the support from Liverpool supporters as the reason for his unexpected turnaround. Suárez returned to first-team training two days later after "offer
ngcontrition" to his teammates but reportedly not apologising to his manager. On 25 September, Suárez returned to the Liverpool team after his suspension to make his first appearance of the
2013–14 season in a
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
third round tie against Manchester United at
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wembl ...
, losing 1–0. On 29 September, Suárez made his first
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
appearance of the season, scoring twice as Liverpool defeated
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
3–1 at the
Stadium of Light. On 26 October, he scored his fourth Premier League hat-trick, his first at Anfield, in a 4–1 defeat of
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
.
On 4 December, Suárez scored four goals against Norwich City in a 5–1 home win. He became the first player in Premier League history to score three hat-tricks against the same club, and took his scoring record against Norwich to 11 goals in 5 matches. On 15 December, Suárez captained Liverpool for the first time in a Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur. He both scored and assisted twice as the team recorded a 5–0 win at
White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane was a football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater it had a capacity of 36,284 before demolition. ...
to close the gap on league leaders Arsenal to two points. The following day, Suárez was named the
Football Supporters' Federation Player of the Year for 2013. On 20 December, Suárez signed a new four-and-a-half-year contract with Liverpool.
On 1 January 2014, by scoring in a 2–0 home win over
Hull City
Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...
, Suárez became the first Liverpool player to score 20 or more goals in successive Premier League seasons since Robbie Fowler in
1994–95 and
1995–96. He equalled
Andy Cole
Andrew Alexander Cole (born 15 October 1971) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. His professional career lasted from 1988 to 2008, and is mostly remembered for his time with Manchester United, who paid a Briti ...
's Premier League record for the earliest date to reach the 20-goal mark, but set a new record low of 15 matches. His strike partnership this season with
Daniel Sturridge has earned them a nickname "SAS", ''i.e.'', ''Sturridge and Suárez".
On 1 March, Suárez made his 100th Premier League appearance, scoring in a 3–0 win over
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
at
St Mary's Stadium. In the following fixture, he scored his 25th league goal of the season as Liverpool defeated Manchester United at Old Trafford for the first time since 2009 by a convincing three-goal margin. On 22 March, Suárez scored his sixth
Premier League hat-trick, and third of the season, in a 6–3 win over
Cardiff City
Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...
at the
Cardiff City Stadium
The Cardiff City Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Dinas Caerdydd) is a stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales. It is the home of Cardiff City Football Club and the Wales national football team.
Following expansion of the Ninian Stand in July 2 ...
. On 30 March, he broke Robbie Fowler's club record of 28 goals in a Premier League season in a 4–0 home win against Tottenham which took Liverpool top of the league with six matches remaining. On 20 April, he scored in a 3–2 win at Norwich to become the first Liverpool player to score 30 league goals in a season since
Ian Rush in
1986–87. This also made him the seventh player to score 30 goals in a Premier League season, following Andy Cole,
Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer CBE DL (born 13 August 1970) is an English football pundit and retired football player and manager who played as a striker. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and one of the greatest players in Premi ...
,
Kevin Phillips,
Thierry Henry
Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Considered one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best player ...
,
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pl ...
and
Robin van Persie
Robin van Persie (; born 6 August 1983) is a Dutch football coach and former professional footballer who played as a striker. Regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation, Van Persie was known for his excellent technique and ball c ...
.
On 18 April, Suárez was named as one of the six players nominated for the
PFA Player of the Year award for the second consecutive season. On 27 April, he won the award, becoming the first non-European to win the award.
On 5 May 2014, Suárez was named as the
Football Association Writers Player of the Year. He finished the season with 31 goals in 33 matches, winning the
Premier League Golden Boot, with Sturridge as runner-up, as Liverpool came second in the league and returned to the UEFA Champions League. Suárez also won the Barclay's
Premier League Player of the Season award. As the Premier League's top scorer with 31 goals, he also shared the
European Golden Shoe
The European Golden Shoe, also known as European Golden Boot, is an award that is presented each season to the leading goalscorer in league matches from the top division of a European national league. The trophy is a sculpture of a football boot. ...
with Cristiano Ronaldo.
Barcelona
Signing and suspension
On 11 July 2014, Suárez agreed with
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
on a five-year contract for an undisclosed transfer fee, however, according to a leaked document by
Football Leaks
Football Leaks was a leak in association football revealing "murky" financial transactions in the world of European professional football and exposes the tax tricks employed by some of the continent's biggest stars. It began with a series of in ...
, the fee was £64.98 million (€82.3 million), making him
one of the most expensive players in world football history. ''Barça'' confirmed Suárez would wear the number 9 shirt for the
2014–15 season.
Suárez missed the first part of the season after being found guilty of biting Italian player
Giorgio Chiellini
Giorgio Chiellini (; born 14 August 1984) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC. Considered one of the best defenders of his generation, Chiellini is known for his strengt ...
at the
2014 FIFA World Cup
The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from ...
.
As part of the suspension, he was banned from all "football-related activities", including training for Barcelona, for four months (until 26 October). He was also banned from entering any stadium, even as a spectator, during the same period.
On 24 July, Suárez and his lawyers filed an appeal with the
Court of Arbitration for Sport
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its ...
(CAS) and requested the sanctions be reduced or the suspension to be lifted.
The parties were heard at a hearing which took place at the CAS offices in
Lausanne
, neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...
, Switzerland, on 8 August.
Six days later, the CAS confirmed the ban imposed by
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
against Suárez, who remained suspended from football for four months, as well as a nine-match ban in internationals, the first of which was served in
Uruguay's round of 16 match against Colombia in the 2014 World Cup. However, the CAS removed the player's "football-related activities" ban and he was allowed to train with Barcelona. As a result of this ban, Suárez was banned from participating in the
2015 Copa América.
The CAS permitted Suárez to play in friendly matches, and he made his Barcelona debut on 18 August against
Club León of Mexico at the
Camp Nou
Camp Nou (, meaning ''new field'', often referred to in English as the Nou Camp), officially branded as Spotify Camp Nou for sponsorship and financial reasons, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Spain. It has been the home stadium of FC Bar ...
, replacing
Rafinha for the final 14 minutes of an eventual 6–0 win in the
Gamper Trophy. Fellow forwards Lionel Messi and
Neymar
Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (born 5 February 1992), known as Neymar, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Brazil national team. A prolific goalscorer and renowned ...
had already been substituted off by the time Suárez took to the pitch.
2014–15: MSN trio and treble winner
Suárez made his competitive debut for Barcelona on 25 October, starting in attack with Messi and Neymar away to
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid.
Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
in ''
El Clásico
El Clásico or el clásico (; ca, El Clàssic, ; ) is the name given to any football match between rival clubs FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Originally referring to competitions held in the Spanish championship, the term now includes every m ...
''.
Although he set up Neymar for the opening goal in the fourth minute, Suárez was substituted in the second half and Barcelona lost 3–1.
He scored his first goal for the club on 26 November in a 4–0 win at
APOEL
APOEL FC ( el, ΑΠΟΕΛ; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', literally "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") ...
in the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
group stage
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...
. On 20 December, he scored his first league goal for the club in his eighth
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Banco Santander, Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaL ...
match, contributing to a 5–0 home win against
Córdoba.
On 24 February 2015, Suárez scored twice as ''Barça'' defeated English champions
Manchester City
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
2–1 in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League
round of 16 tie. On 4 March, he scored in Barcelona's 3–1
Copa del Rey
The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...
semi-final win over
Villarreal to qualify the club for its 37th
Spanish Cup
The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
. On 8 March, Suárez scored twice in a 6–1 home win over
Rayo Vallecano
Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid, in the neighbourhood of Vallecas. Rayo was founded on 29 May 1924, and currently compete in La Li ...
. On 22 March, Suárez scored the winning goal for Barcelona in the 2–1 victory over Real Madrid at
Camp Nou
Camp Nou (, meaning ''new field'', often referred to in English as the Nou Camp), officially branded as Spotify Camp Nou for sponsorship and financial reasons, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Spain. It has been the home stadium of FC Bar ...
.
In the post-match press conference, his coach
Luis Enrique
Luis Enrique Martínez García (; born 8 May 1970), known as Luis Enrique, is a Spanish football manager and former player.
A versatile player with good technique, he was capable of playing in several different positions, but usually played as ...
lauded Suárez, saying, "Very few players can score a goal like he did, and that is why we signed him. He can decide games. He's a pure scorer, who needs very little to finish."
On 15 April, Suárez scored two goals in a 3–1 UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg victory over
Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...
at the
Parc des Princes
Parc des Princes () is an all-seater football stadium in Paris, France, in the south-west of the French capital, inside the 16th arrondissement, near the Stade Jean-Bouin and Stade Roland Garros.
The stadium, with a seating capacity of 47 ...
. He
nutmegged PSG defender
David Luiz
David Luiz Moreira Marinho (born 22 April 1987) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for Flamengo. Primarily a centre back, he can also be deployed as a defensive midfielder.
After starting out at Vitoria, David Luiz moved to Be ...
twice before scoring both goals. On 2 May, he scored his first hat-trick for the club, in 8–0 win at Córdoba. On 12 May, Suárez set up both of Neymar's goals in the second leg of Barcelona's UEFA Champions League semi-final tie as they went on to win 5–3 on aggregate against
Bayern Munich
Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...
. Suárez scored in the
Champions League final against
Juventus
Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...
on 6 June in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
, putting the team back into the lead in an eventual 3–1 win by converting the rebound after
Gianluigi Buffon saved from Messi. The win sealed a
treble for the team.
Suárez ended his first season at Barcelona with 25 goals and 20 assists in all competitions.
The Barcelona attacking trio of Messi, Suárez and Neymar, dubbed "MSN", ended with 122 goals, the most in a season for an attacking trio in Spanish football history.
2015–16: Second European Golden Shoe, domestic success
Suárez opened the
2015–16 season by scoring and assisting a goal in Barcelona's 5–4
extra time
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only ...
victory over
Sevilla
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
in the
2015 UEFA Super Cup
The 2015 UEFA Super Cup was a football match between Spanish teams Barcelona and Sevilla on 11 August 2015 at the Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena in Tbilisi, Georgia. It was the 40th UEFA Super Cup, an annual tournament contested by the winners of ...
, on 11 August 2015. On 31 October, Suárez scored in a 2–0 away win against
Getafe
Getafe () is a municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality.
Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city centre, within a flat ar ...
after being assisted with a backheel from
Sergi Roberto, his 300th career goal. On 21 November, Suárez scored twice in Barcelona's 4–0 away win against Real Madrid. On 17 December, Suárez scored all three goals as Barcelona defeated Chinese club
Guangzhou Evergrande
Guangzhou Football Club, formerly known as Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club, is a professional Chinese football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under the license of the Chinese Football Association. The team is based ...
3–0 in the
2015 FIFA Club World Cup
The 2015 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2015 presented by Alibaba E-Auto for sponsorship reasons) was the 12th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, a FIFA-organised international club football tournament be ...
semi-final in
Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...
, Japan, becoming the first player to score a hat-trick in
the competition's history. He then scored twice in Barcelona's 3–0 win over Argentine club
River Plate in
the final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
, finishing the tournament as top scorer with five goals and being named the best player of the competition.
On 3 February 2016, Suárez scored four goals in a 7–0
Copa del Rey
The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...
win against
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
. On 16 March, he scored an acrobatic goal as Barcelona beat
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...
3–1 in the second leg of their
Champions League round of 16 tie. On 5 April, he scored both of Barcelona's goals in a 2–1 comeback victory over Atlético Madrid during their first leg of the quarter-finals, though Barcelona were still eliminated from the competition following defeat in the second leg. On 20 April, Suárez again scored four times in a match, as well as assisting three further goals for teammates, as ''Barça'' won 8–0 away at
Deportivo La Coruña in La Liga. Three days later, he scored another four goals in a 6–0 home win over
Sporting Gijón, becoming the first player to score four times in back-to-back matches in the history of La Liga. On 30 April, Suárez became only the second player in the history of the club to reach the milestone of 35 goals in a single league season.
On the final day of the
2015–16 La Liga season, Suárez scored a hat-trick in a 3–0 victory at
Granada
Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...
, securing a second consecutive
Spanish championship for ''Barça'' and registering 40 league goals for the season to win his first
Pichichi Trophy
In Spanish football, the Trofeo Pichichi is awarded by the sports newspaper '' Marca'' to the top goalscorer of each La Liga season. Named after the Athletic Bilbao striker Rafael "Pichichi" Moreno, the trophy has been awarded annually since the ...
and a second
European Golden Shoe
The European Golden Shoe, also known as European Golden Boot, is an award that is presented each season to the leading goalscorer in league matches from the top division of a European national league. The trophy is a sculpture of a football boot. ...
. Suárez also became the first player since 2009 other than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to win both the Pichichi and the Golden Shoe in a season. Fourteen of his goals came in his last five matches. Suárez also led the league in assists, tied at 16 with Messi, becoming the first player ever to lead La Liga in both goals and assists.
On 22 May, Suárez suffered a
right hamstring injury during Barcelona's 2–0 victory over Sevilla in the
2016 Copa del Rey Final
The 2016 Copa del Rey Final was a football match played on 22 May 2016 to decide the winner of the 2015–16 Copa del Rey, the 114th edition of Spain's premier football cup since its establishment (including two seasons where two rival editions ...
. The club confirmed after the match that he would likely miss at least part of the upcoming
Copa América Centenario
The Copa América Centenario ( pt, Copa América Centenário, french: Coupe Amerique Centennaire, en, Centennial Cup America; literally ''Centennial America Cup'') was an international men's association football tournament that was hosted by the ...
with
his national team.
For Uruguay, Suárez also previously missed part of the 2014 World Cup and the entire 2015 Copa América through suspension.
Suárez ended the season with 59 goals and 22 assists.
The front three of Messi, Suárez and Neymar finished with 131 goals, breaking the record they had set the previous year for most goals by an attacking trio in a single season.
2016–17: Third consecutive Copa del Rey
Suárez opened the
2016–17 season by scoring a goal in Barcelona's
2016 Supercopa de España
The 2016 Supercopa de España was a two-legged football match-up played in August 2016 between the champions of 2015–16 La Liga and 2015–16 Copa del Rey, Barcelona, and the runners-up of the 2015–16 Copa del Rey, Sevilla, making it a rematch ...
first leg match against Sevilla as they recorded a 2–0 away victory. In the first match of the
2016–17 La Liga season, Suárez scored a hat-trick in a 6–2 victory against
Real Betis
Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito ...
, also claiming his first free kick goal for Barcelona. Suárez made his 100th Barcelona appearance in a 1–2 defeat at home to
Alavés. Though unable to score, Suárez still claimed the distinction of having more goals and assists in his first 100 matches in Spain than both Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi; Suárez contributed 88 goals and 43 assists in his first 100 matches for Barcelona, compared to Ronaldo's 95 goals and 29 assists, and Messi's 41 goals and 14 assists.
Suárez opened his
Champions League account for the season with two goals in a 7–0 win defeat of
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foo ...
on 13 September; this was followed by another goal three days later in a 5–1 La Liga win at
Leganés.
On 3 December, Suárez opened the scoring with a second half header in
El Clásico
El Clásico or el clásico (; ca, El Clàssic, ; ) is the name given to any football match between rival clubs FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Originally referring to competitions held in the Spanish championship, the term now includes every m ...
, though Real Madrid scored a late equalizer and the match ended in a 1–1 draw. Later on 18 December, Suárez scored a brace as well as provided an assist as Barcelona won 4–1 against
Espanyol
Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league s ...
in
Derbi barceloní
The Derbi Barceloní (; es, Derbi Barcelonés, ; "Barcelonian derby"), is the name given to football matches between FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol. Both clubs are located in the Barcelona metropolitan area, Spain.
Rivalry
In the first half of ...
. On 11 January 2017, Suárez scored his 100th goal for Barcelona in a
Copa del Rey
The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...
round of 16 match against
Athletic Bilbao
Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country of Spain. They are known as ''Los L ...
.
During the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final against Atletico Madrid, on 1 February, Suárez dribbled his way through opposing defence from the his own half to score Barcelona's first goal in a narrow 2–1 victory. On 7 February, Suárez scored and was later sent off for a second yellow in Barcelona's semi-final second leg match of the Copa del Rey against Atlético for a foul on
Koke, his first red card for the club, meaning he would miss the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
. In an interview after the match, Suárez expressed his disdain with the referee's decision, and his desire for the club to appeal it. Barcelona would go on to win the final despite Suárez's absence, lifting the cup for a third straight season.
On 8 March, Suárez opened the scoring with a third-minute header in Barcelona's famous
6–1 victory over PSG in the
Champions League round of 16 second leg, also later winning a penalty which Neymar converted for his side's fifth goal. Barcelona won 6–5 over PSG on aggregate, overcoming a 0–4 deficit suffered in the first leg, and achieved the biggest second leg comeback in Champions League history.
Suárez finished the season with 37 goals and 16 assists.
Meanwhile, the attacking trio of Messi, Suárez and Neymar ended with 111 goals in their final campaign together.
2017–18: Domestic double and record unbeaten streak
On 23 September 2017, Suárez scored in Barcelona's 3–0 win over
Girona
Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capit ...
, in the first ever Catalan derby for the opposition. On 14 October, Suárez maintained Barcelona's undefeated start to the La Liga season with a late header against
Atlético Madrid
Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based i ...
at the
Metropolitano Stadium
Metropolitano Stadium (Spanish: ''Estadio Metropolitano''), also referred to as Cívitas Metropolitano for sponsorship reasons, is a stadium in Madrid, Spain. It has been the home stadium of Atlético Madrid since the 2017–18 season. It is lo ...
in Madrid. He scored twice against
Leganés in a 3–0 win at the
Estadio Municipal de Butarque on 18 November. On 2 December, Suárez scored Barcelona's second goal in a 2–2 draw with Celta de Vigo. A week later, on 10 December, Suárez and Messi scored again as Barcelona won 2–0 against Villareal. On 17 December, Suárez scored two against Deportivo La Coruña in a 4–0 win. Less than a week later, he opened the scoring for Barcelona in a 3–0 win over Real Madrid at the Bernabéu. His goal at El Clásico was the 400th goal of his professional career.
Following the midseason break, Suárez scored twice in a 4–2 comeback win at
Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (; ''Royal Society''), La Real in Spanish, Erreala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 Septemb ...
on 14 January 2018. A week later, on 21 January, he scored a brace as well as assisted twice in Barcelona's 5–0 win against Real Betis. He scored a hat-trick in a 6–1 home win over Girona on 24 February. On 4 April, Suárez scored during a 4–1 victory over
AS Roma
' (''Rome Sport Association''), commonly referred to as Roma (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier of Italian football for all of its ...
in the first leg of Champions League quarter-final, though Roma would end up mounting a comeback, knocking Barcelona out in the second leg.
On 14 April, Suárez scored as Barcelona defeated Valencia 2–1 to secure the
longest unbeaten streak in La Liga history, at 39 games. On 21 April, Barcelona won their fourth consecutive Copa del Rey title, beating Sevilla 5–0 in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
in Madrid, with Suárez scoring twice. On 29 April, Suárez set up all three of Messi's goals in a 4–2 victory over Deportivo La Coruña, winning his third league title with Barcelona. A week later, Barcelona held on for a dramatic 2–2 draw at home to Real Madrid on 6 May, to extend their unbeaten streak in the league; Suárez and Messi scored the goals for Barça. Barcelona's record league unbeaten streak came to an end after 43 games, following a 4–5 loss to Levante in the penultimate game of the season on 13 May. Barcelona mounted a comeback after trailing 1–5, with both Suárez and new club record signing
Philippe Coutinho
Philippe Coutinho Correia (born 12 June 1992) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Premier League club Aston Villa and the Brazil national team. He is known for his combination of vision, ...
scoring a brace each, but they couldn't find an equalizer. Suárez finished the season with 31 goals and 17 assists in total, and his 12 La Liga assists made him league's top assist provider for the third consecutive season.
2018–19: Back-to-back La Liga triumph
Suárez scored twice for Barcelona in an 8–2 win over newly promoted
Huesca on 2 September 2018. A week later he scored in their 2–1 victory at Real Sociedad, as the club made it four wins out of four in La Liga. On 28 October, Suárez scored a hat-trick in a 5–1 home win over Real Madrid in ''
El Clásico
El Clásico or el clásico (; ca, El Clàssic, ; ) is the name given to any football match between rival clubs FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Originally referring to competitions held in the Spanish championship, the term now includes every m ...
''. He became only the second Barcelona player after Messi to score a league hat-trick in the ''Clásico'' over the last twenty years. A week later, on 3 November, Suárez scored twice to lead a 3–2 comeback victory over
Rayo Vallecano
Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid, in the neighbourhood of Vallecas. Rayo was founded on 29 May 1924, and currently compete in La Li ...
.
On 13 January, Suárez scored twice and assisted Messi's goal in Barcelona's 3–0 victory over Eibar, helping his team to a 5 points lead on top of the league table. On 27 February, Suárez again scored twice against Real Madrid during a 3–0 victory in the second leg of
2018–19 Copa del Rey
The 2018–19 Copa del Rey was the 117th staging of the Copa del Rey (including two seasons where two rival editions were played). The winners were assured a place in the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League group stage, and both they and the runners-up ...
semi-final. On 27 April 2019, Barcelona secured a second consecutive
La Liga title, and Suárez's fourth league title with the club. However, Suárez scored only one goal in the
2018–19 UEFA Champions League
The 2018–19 UEFA Champions League was the 64th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 27th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. For the first tim ...
; this came on 1 May, as he netted Barcelona's opener in their 3–0 win over Suárez's former club Liverpool in the first leg of the semi-finals. However, Barcelona would go on to lose the second leg 0–4 at
Anfield
Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 ...
on 7 May, being eliminated and squandering a three-goal first leg lead in the competition for the second consecutive season. Suárez ended the season with 25 goals and 10 assists in all competitions.
2019–20: Final season for Barcelona
On 15 September, after coming off of a calf injury that he suffered during the first game of the
2019–20 league campaign, Suárez opened his scoring account by netting a brace in a 5–2 victory over Valencia as a 60th minute substitute. On 2 October, he scored two goals in a 2–1 comeback win over
Inter Milan
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter i ...
in the
2019–20 UEFA Champions League group stage The 2019–20 UEFA Champions League group stage began on 17 September 2019 and ended on 11 December 2019. A total of 32 teams competed in the group stage to decide the 16 places in the knockout phase of the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League.
Draw
The ...
. Four days later, he opened the scoring in a 4–0 league victory over Sevilla with a
bicycle kick.
On 7 December, he scored a curving backheel goal in a 5–2 victory over
Mallorca
Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean.
The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bale ...
, being lauded by many as one of the goals of the season. Three days later, Suárez captained Barcelona for the first time as he came off of the bench to set up
Ansu Fati's late goal in a 2–1 win over Inter during the final match of Barcelona's Champions League group. On 12 January 2020, Barcelona confirmed that Suárez would have to undergo a surgery which could see him out for four months, after suffering a knee injury during their defeat against Atlético in the
Supercopa de España
The Supercopa de España or the ''Spanish Super Cup'' is a super cup tournament in Spanish football. Founded in 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2019–20 by four teams: the winners and runners-up of ...
. By scoring the only goal in a 1–0 win over
Espanyol
Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league s ...
on 9 July, Suárez took his tally to 195 goals with Barcelona, surpassing
László Kubala to become the third all-time top scorer in the club's history.
On 8 August, having missed the first leg due to injury, Suárez scored from the
penalty spot
The penalty area or 18-yard box (also known less formally as the penalty box or simply box) is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends 16.5m (18 yd) to each side of the goal and 16.5m (18 yd) in front of it.
With ...
during Barcelona's 3–1 win over
Napoli in the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie, as they advanced to the quarter-finals to play
Bayern Munich
Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...
in a single-legged match. On 14 August, Suárez scored his side's second goal as Barcelona suffered a historic
2–8 defeat against Bayern, the club's worst defeat in nearly seventy years that capped a first trophyless season since
2007–08.
Atlético Madrid
2020–21: Debut season and fifth La Liga title
After becoming Barcelona head coach on 19 August 2020,
Ronald Koeman
Ronald Koeman (; born 21 March 1963) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. He is the younger brother of his former international teammate Erwin Koeman and the son of former Dutch international Martin Koeman. Koeman was capab ...
informed Suárez he was no longer wanted, and club president
Josep Maria Bartomeu
Josep Maria Bartomeu Floreta (born 6 February 1963) is a Spanish entrepreneur, and a former president of football club FC Barcelona. He started his presidency in 2014, following the resignation of Sandro Rosell; he held the post until his resig ...
had also left him off a list of players he considered not for sale in the aftermath of the 8–2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League earlier that month.
On 23 September 2020, after failing to join
Juventus
Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...
and amid accusations that he cheated his way to obtain an Italian citizenship,
Suárez signed a two-year contract with
Atlético Madrid
Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based i ...
.
On 27 September, Suárez made his debut for the club, scoring two goals and providing
Marcos Llorente with an assist in a 6–1 victory against
Granada
Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...
. On 25 November, Suárez's backheel goal against Mallorca, which he scored on 7 December 2019, was nominated for the
2020 FIFA Puskás Award, eventually finishing in second behind a goal scored by
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
's
Son Heung-min
Son Heung-min ( ko, 손흥민; ; born 8 July 1992) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and captains the South Korea national team. Considered one of the best forward ...
. On 3 January 2021, Suárez scored a 90th-minute winner against
Alavés, a feat which saw him overtake
Radamel Falcao
Radamel Falcao García Zárate (born 10 February 1986) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Rayo Vallecano and often captains the Colombia national team. Nicknamed "''El Tigre''" (Spanish for ''The Ti ...
's record for a player's best start with Atlético this century; his eleven goals contributions (nine goals and two assists) in his first twelve La Liga matches surpassed Falcao's nine goals and one assist over the same period in 2011.
On 21 January, Suárez scored a brace, including a last-minute penalty, in a 2–1 win over
Eibar. This meant that he had managed to hit double figures in goals in each of his past ten league campaigns. Three days later, he scored Atlético's second goal in a 3–1 comeback victory over
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
, taking his league tally to twelve goals in fifteen games, the joint-most in La Liga. This feat meant Suárez had accomplished the best start for a player at a new club in the league since
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pl ...
's move to
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid.
Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
(13 goals in 15 appearances in 2010). On 31 January, Suárez scored another two goals in a 4–2 victory over
Cádiz
Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia.
Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...
, also netting his first free kick goal for the club. He then scored an additional brace on 8 February, in Atlético's 2–2 draw against
Celta Vigo
Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), ...
.
On 7 March, Suárez scored the opener against Real Madrid in the
Madrid Derby, his first goal in five matches, though Atlético conceded late as the match ended in a 1–1 draw. On 21 March, Suárez headed in the match-winner to score his 500th senior career goal as Atlético edged a 1–0 victory over Alavés. On 16 May, the penultimate matchday of the La Liga season, Suárez scored a crucial winner in the dying minutes of his side's 2–1 comeback victory over
Osasuna
Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El ...
, recording his twentieth goal of the season and ensuring that Atlético remained on top of the table. On 22 May, the final matchday of the league season, Suárez scored the winning goal in a 2–1 comeback away at
Real Valladolid
Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid () or Valladolid, is a professional football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish league system.
The club c ...
, leading his club to a victory that would ultimately hand them their first La Liga title in seven years. Suárez finished his debut season as Atletico's top scorer with 21 goals.
2021–22: Second season and departure
Suárez scored during his first league start of the season against Villarreal, although he suffered a bruise and had to be taken off, resulting in a 2–2 draw. On 21 September, Suárez scored both of Atletico's goals in a 2–1 comeback victory over Getafe. On 28 September, Suárez scored an injury time penalty during a 2–1 comeback away win against
AC Milan in the
2021–22 UEFA Champions League group stage
The 2021–22 UEFA Champions League group stage began on 14 September 2021 and ended on 9 December 2021. A total of 32 teams competed in the group stage to decide the 16 places in the knockout phase of the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League.
Sherif ...
. O 2 October, Suárez both scored and assisted as Atletico defeated Barcelona 2–0 in La Liga, though he did not celebrate netting against his former club. Suárez scored another brace on 24 October, as he led Atletico to a 2–2 draw against Real Sociedad after trailing by two goals. On 2 April, he scored two goals against Alaves in a 4–1 win. Following the result he reached a tally of 11 league goals for the season; the tenth consecutive season in domestic leagues he reached double figures in his career.
On 15 May 2022, after the last home match this campaign for Atlético, the team announced Suárez's departure at the end of the season, where he was given a farewell as well as a standing ovation as fans unfurled a giant banner reading "Thank you Lucho for making us champions." Later on, the club also honored Suárez by presenting an illustration of his figure across the main mural at the museum of
Wanda Metropolitano Suárez again ended the season as Atletico's top scorer with 13 goals.
Return to Nacional
On 26 July 2022, Suárez announced that he had reached a pre-agreement with his boyhood club
Nacional ahead of a
free transfer to the club, which was confirmed the following day. He made his second debut for ''El Bolso'' on 2 August, in a
Copa Sudamericana
The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, named as ''Copa Sudamericana'' (; pt, Copa Sul-Americana ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club competition in South American ...
1–0 defeat to
Atlético Goianiense, at the
Parque Central. Four days later, he scored the final goal in a 3–0
league
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
home win over
Rentistas.
On 31 October, during the Championship finals, Suárez had a Man of The Match performance where he scored a brace to lead his team to a 4–1 victory against
Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
, making Nacional
2022 Uruguayan Primera División Champions.
Suárez ended the season with eight goals and three assists in 14 league games.
International career
Suárez was invited to play for
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
in the qualifying rounds for the
2007 U-20 World Cup
The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 16th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup (formerly called the FIFA World Youth Championship), hosted by Canada from 30 June to 22 July 2007. Argentina defeated the Czech Republic in the title game by the sco ...
, but his club, Groningen, did not release him to play. He did play in the tournament finals, and he scored two goals in four appearances.
His goals came in a group stage draw against
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
and in the
Round of 16 against the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, but the U.S. won 2–1 and Uruguay was eliminated from the tournament.
Suárez made his senior debut for
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
on 8 February 2007 in a 3–1 win against
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...
. He was
sent off in the 85th minute after receiving a second yellow card for dissent.
Suárez played in 19 of 20 games in
2010 World Cup qualifying and the
inter-confederation play-offs and scored five goals.
2010 FIFA World Cup
In June 2010,
Óscar Tabárez
Óscar Washington Tabárez Silva (; born 3 March 1947), known as ''El Maestro'' (The Teacher), is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former player. He most recently coached the Uruguay national team.
After an unassuming career as ...
named Suárez to Uruguay's 23-man
World Cup squad. Uruguay began the tournament with a 0–0 draw against
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. In the second match, a 3–0 win over
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
, Suárez drew a penalty and assisted
Álvaro Pereira's
stoppage time
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...
goal. In the final match of the group stage, he headed in a goal off a pass from
Edinson Cavani
Edinson Roberto Cavani Gómez (; born 14 February 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Valencia and the Uruguay national team. Nicknamed ''El Matador'' ('The Bullfighter'), being known for his i ...
and was named
Man of the Match in a 1–0 win over
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
.
Uruguay won
Group A
Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived vehicles intended for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles ...
and advanced to the
knockout stage
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final mat ...
.
During the
round of 16 against
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, Suárez scored both goals in a 2–1 win. His second broke a tie in the 80th minute when he dribbled around a defender and curled a "spectacular shot"
in off the far post; Suárez was again named Man of the Match.
This win put Uruguay through to the quarter-finals for the first time since
1970. In the
quarter-final
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
against
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...
, the score was 1–1 at the end of regulation and the match went into
extra time
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only ...
. Late in extra time, Ghana sent a
free-kick into the box, and Suárez blocked
Stephen Appiah
Stephen Leroy Appiah ( ; born 24 December 1980) is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Appiah was a member of the Ghana national team, which he has represented at the youth, Olympic, and senior levels. He capt ...
's shot on the goal line.
He then blocked
Dominic Adiyiah's goalbound header with his hands, committing a
professional foul to save what would have been the game winner
and was sent off.
Asamoah Gyan hit the crossbar with the ensuing
penalty kick
A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
and Suárez, who had stopped to watch, celebrated the miss before heading down the tunnel.
Uruguay won the
shootout
A shootout, also called a firefight or gunfight, is a fight between armed combatants using firearms. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used to describe those that do not involve military forces or only invo ...
4–2 and advanced to the semi-finals.
After the match, Suárez said, "I made the save of the tournament."
He said he had no alternative, was acting out of instinct, and would do it again if it helped his team win.
Ghana head coach
Milovan Rajevac said the play was an "injustice"
and Suárez was labelled a villain and a cheater.
Others viewed him as a hero.
Due to the automatic suspension that accompanies a red card, Suárez sacrificed himself in the semi-final for the unlikely chance the penalty would be missed, and his team would later win.
While Suárez was suspended for the
semi-final
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final mat ...
match for his red card against Ghana, Uruguay "lacked a second striker
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