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What Does The Future Behold For The El Pistolero – Luis Suarez?

Luis-Suarez_2866285Recently, I have noticed that the number of rumours linking Luis Suarez away from Liverpool have been growing slowly, but growing nonetheless. While it is by no means strange for a player as superbly talented as Suarez to be linked with a move elsewhere, I have noticed something which has separated this rumour from the plethora it is surrounded by. The Liverpool fans seemed to have resigned themselves to the eventuality of his departure. Usually when a star player is rumoured to be leaving, the fan pages leap into action, insisting that he loves the city and its food, drink, culture or whatever needs to be said to calm the masses. But not this time. Fans seem to have adopted an “enjoy him while he’s here” kind of attitude, and it seems as if it has become a matter of when rather than if he will go.

If that is the case, then the only thing which remains uncertain is where will he go? The only hat in the ring at the moment seems to be that of Bayern Munich, and with Pep Guardiola at the helm, it is most definitely a project which even the most fervent one-club player would look twice at.

“If Bayern Munich makes an offer I would certainly be willing to listen and think about it, it doesn’t mean I will definitely leave, it just means that I will not automatically reject other clubs.”

Although he says he won’t definitely move away from Merseyside, it almost certainly means he will. And who could blame him? Bayern are quickly becoming a European powerhouse once more, and playing with Toni Kroos and Franck Ribéry is infinitely more appealing than with Joe Allen and Stewart Downing, with all due respect to the latter pairing.

If, or most likely when Suarez leaves for Bayern, they will have become the biggest rivals to the throne currently residing in Cataluña, in my opinion. He is as good a replacement for Lionel Messi in a false number nine role as you could find, and will flourish under Pep Guardiola with such a powerful squad around him. Given his current ability, further growth would be a truly frightening prospect.

Luis Suarez

However, for every positive to be drawn from a Bavarian perspective, there is an equally negative scouse one. The sale of Suarez would be an almost insurmountable blow to The Reds. Not only their main source of goals, Suarez is the fire in Liverpool’s stomach, and has been the one light in an otherwise dark Liverpool side since his arrival from Ajax in 2011. While Liverpool have improved since then and are being weaned off of Suarez, but his departure could set the Liverpool project way back.

If there was a positive to be taken from a Liverpool fan’s perspective, it would be that the sale of Suarez could yield a healthy amount of money (I feel dirty just saying that) to be reinvested into the squad, although given the club’s track record, I would say most fans would rather he stayed. The chances of this happening however, are slim. So how will Liverpool spend this money?

Well, first off, the fee doing the rounds in the rumour mills is in the region of £40 million, which seems like enough to see that Liverpool replace him with a few quality players, until I remember that that fee bought them just Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing in recent times. And then I remember Andy Carroll, Joe Allen, Fabio Borini, etc., and I suddenly feel my hopes dissipate. With Suarez such a difficult, if not impossible player to replace, £40 million will still be an insufficient amount. But it seems that Fenway Sports Group, Liverpool’s owners, are obliged to accept offers in the region of this amount due to a buy-out clause in his contract.

Liverpool fans’ resignation to El Pistolero’s departure seems apt, then. For the second time in as many years, they are set to lose their driving force. It is an even greater loss to the side, and to the fans. The sale of Fernando Torres in January 2009 seemed more like a betrayal than a necessary move, and was met with immense hostility towards “el traidor” – the traitor.

But it is not with similar anger or resentment which they will bid Suarez farewell, if he does leave, but with thanks and a sense of disappointment that the club couldn’t reach sufficient heights to keep hold of a player of such immense quality who has such a passion for the club.

Unlike in 2011, when El Niño departed, there will be no shirt burning when Luis Suarez leaves, no proclamations of treason, just disappointment.