Luisito

McAgger wrote:WHAT A PHOTO

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‘I speak with Luis most weeks - and he is loving life at Liverpool,' Cavani said. 'When I speak with him now it sounds like a different man to that of last season.'

‘You can hear it in his voice how happy he is compared to last season. He has always loved Liverpool - things have not always gone well for him in England - and he told me how humbled he was by the way the club and the fans stood by him.'

When he asked to leave people thought there was an ulterior motive like a financial one - but it was not true. All he wanted was to be at a team which matched his ambition, where he could play Champions League Football, and where he can compete for major trophies,' Cavani said. 'Now Liverpool are in that place he is happy to stay.'

Art Morte wrote:£200k per week contracts also make players quite happy. Good if he's staying beyond this season, for what ever reasons.

mr-r34 wrote:Suarez has only scored 4 of our last 24 goals.

Red Alert wrote:

Luis Suarez says he owes a debt of gratitude to Liverpool FC for helping him produce the best form of his career as he insisted: “I know I can achieve my dreams here.”

In an exclusive interview with the ECHO, the Uruguayan striker spoke candidly about life with the Reds and his hopes for the future.

Suarez has lit up the Premier League with his scintillating performances so far this season.

He has plundered 23 goals in just 21 league games and is on course to claim the Golden Boot and be crowned Player of the Year.

However, the 27-year-old insists his burning ambition is to help Brendan Rodgers’ side bring Champions League football back to Anfield.

Suarez wants to reward those supporters who stood by him after the events of last summer when he came close to leaving the club.

“The fans have helped me so much,” Suarez told the ECHO.

“Everyone knows that I had some difficult times last summer.

“But they have always supported me and always had confidence in me. I really feel that support in my heart.

“I think this has been the best season of my career so far. It’s my job to score goals and create goals, and help the team.

“When you have really good team-mates and a manager who believes in you then it helps so much with your job.

“For me, stepping on to the pitch knowing I have the confidence of the supporters means everything to me as a player. They help me to give my best.”

Suarez felt that support more than ever on his Anfield comeback last October.

The visit of Crystal Palace was the frontman’s first competitive appearance on home turf since serving his 10-game ban for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic six months earlier.

He emerged from the tunnel before kick-off with his newborn son Benjamin and his three-year-old daughter Delfina.

“That was a special day for me,” he said.

“I know in England it’s not normal to take your children on to the pitch like that but it’s normal in Uruguay.

“I wanted to show the Liverpool fans my family and I wanted everyone to know I was so happy with life both on and off the pitch.

“It was my first game back at Anfield and I wanted my children to share that moment.

“It was an emotional moment for me. To come back and play at Anfield after so long was brilliant.”

Since then Suarez hasn’t looked back. He has been the driving force behind Liverpool’s sustained push for a top four finish.

The only headlines he has generated have been for his breathtaking ability.

He has picked up just four yellow cards all season having heeded the advice of wife Sofia, who had warned she would stop attending matches if his on-field behaviour didn’t improve.

“My wife is so happy now too,” Suarez said.

“I try to keep my cool on the pitch with referees and defenders. I try not to get involved in arguments.

“It is better to just concentrate on helping the team – that is the most important thing. You need to keep a clear mind.

“When I was a kid I listened to the big players. Now I’m a big player in a big team other players come to speak to me. It’s a positive for me. I need to be an example.”

Rather than angrily confront officials, Suarez has learned to let things go. He was the victim of an injustice at the Emirates last Sunday when he was clattered to the ground by Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain inside the box.

To Rodgers’ disgust, referee Howard Webb failed to award a penalty and the Reds bowed out of the FA Cup after a 2-1 defeat.

“I think everyone could see that it was 100% a penalty but sometimes it’s difficult for the referees,” Suarez said.

“I understand that. Referees are normal people and they can miss things sometimes.

“It’s the same with players. As a striker sometimes you make a mistake and miss a chance.

“On the pitch you can see one image, on the TV you see another image. Referees don’t get to see the replays. That decision didn’t go our way but we have moved on.”

Cup glory may have eluded Liverpool but Suarez insists that setback will have no impact on their league campaign.

With 12 games remaining the stage is set for a thrilling finale.

The fourth placed Reds are just four points behind leaders Chelsea ahead of Sunday’s home clash with Swansea City.

Suarez won’t make any bold predictions about the title and admits Liverpool’s main target is nailing down a Champions League spot.

“It was disappointing to lose to Arsenal as we wanted to do well in the FA Cup,” he said.

“It was a competition we had a big chance in and we played well.

“But we know that in football not everything goes your way. We have forgotten about that quickly. Our focus is on the next game against Swansea. We have 12 games left and let’s see what we can achieve.

“Can we win the title? I’m not sure. I think this season the Premier League is so difficult. Every team can lose games. Man City, Chelsea and Arsenal have been dropping points.

“We are very strong at home and we must keep going like this. As the manager said we are a chihuahua! We must just focus on every game. In football you never know what can happen.

“To be in the Champions League is what we all want. This is our objective – to play in it next season.

“We know we have a small squad. When our best 11 players start we have shown we can do well against any team. But if we have one or two injuries it can become difficult for the manager.

“We have a very good team playing at a good level and we believe we can get in the Champions League.”

Suarez admits watching this week’s last 16 ties between Manchester City and Barcelona, and Arsenal and Bayern Munich, whetted his appetite for the prize at stake over the coming months.

Having listened to skipper Steven Gerrard’s stories about famous European nights at Anfield, Suarez is keen to experience them for himself.

“I watched the games on TV this week and when you hear that Champions League music that’s motivation in itself,” he said.

“I want to be there with Liverpool. It’s an unbelievable competition. It’s where we want to be – playing against the top teams in Europe.

“Stevie has told me about Champions League nights at Anfield. He said when you have played Champions League football at Anfield you will never forget it. I want to try it for myself.

“When I arrived here I said it was my dream to play for Liverpool and play Champions League here. I know I can achieve my dreams here.”

Luis Suarez admits he has played through the pain barrier for Liverpool because he hates the idea of having to watch from the sidelines.

Remarkably, the striker (above) hasn’t missed a single match due to injury during his three years at Anfield.

“I just love to play football,” he told the ECHO.

“I always talk to the manager and tell him how much I want to play.

“Even in the Cups against small teams I like to play.

“There have been times when I have had knocks but I’ve been able to get on with it. My body and my head are very strong.”

HE'S STAYING NEXT SEASON, GTFI!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MJGunner wrote:
Arsenal had the legal right to speak to Suarez and sign him if he agreed but Liverpool just blocked the move and 'gambled' on Arsenal not taking them to court.

But with his new contract, the old clause is obsolete.

The bolded section is the wording of an Arsenal twitter feed, the quotes that are being reported don't include anything about Arsenal taking Liverpool to court and I would be absolutely shocked to hear that the full answer made a reference. That's because Arsenal has almost no recourse here, they never would've been able to take Liverpool to court regardless, and I'm sure Henry knows that. As they weren't a party to the contract, the only thing they could do is sue for damages, which would be fairly difficult to quantify in a court of law. The only person that could really take action here is Luis, and he chose not to over the summer (you'll remember, following the advice of the PFA after they reviewed the contract).

Anyway, I work with contract law 70 hours a week, so I'm going to address this once and then try to move on - everybody read and pay close attention, I don't want to have to repeat myself. Two disclaimers: (a) my understanding and experience is that UK and US contract law are incredibly similar, but any minor differences which impact this post are probably beyond my knowledge, feel free to correct me where necessary; and (b) without actually being able to review the contract, we can only try to infer the details from the facts we do know, which are as follows:

1. Per Henry's quote, there was some form of 40m release clause in Suarez's contract.
2. Arsenal bid 40m+1.
3. Liverpool did not grant Arsenal the right to negotiate with Suarez.
4. The PFA, a body dedicated to ensuring that the contracts of players are fairly written and enforced, advised Suarez not to pursue legal action.
5. Suarez did not pursue legal action.

Most contracts in any field, but particularly those in football, include a form of confidentiality clause which would make it a breach of contract for the employee to disclose the terms. In event of a breach of contract, the offending party loses their legal protections and rights to recourse under the contract. If this happens and the employee attempts to enforce the contract through litigation, whether there was an initial breach by the employee would be subject to the review of a judge, so there's some wiggle room on both sides - everybody needs to estimate whether their case would be strong enough for court and weigh that chance against the cost.

The complication here is that the MO in European football is to treat contracts with somewhat less respect than typically afforded them in other spheres. Despite managers mentioning players in interviews, more leaks during transfer season than the Titanic, and agents openly referencing (and sometimes inventing) teams' interest, how often do you hear about tapping up restrictions actually being enforced? The very nature of the transfer market regularly leads teams to violate contract terms.

So Arsenal operated the way the market typically operates - they, most likely through Guardiola, learned the terms of the release clause, and bid enough to activate it. Their one mistake is that the precise nature of their bid provided clear evidence of a breach of contract on Suarez's part - someone in his camp provided a competitor with confidential terms. Arsenal's approach was just the way everyone operates.

Well there's one problem - it's been reported both that one of the major motivating factors in FSG entering the Premier League was the FFP proposals, and also that John Henry has been disappointed in the results of those measures. European football is set up in an anti-competitive system, and Henry saw FFP as a step towards changing that. To put it lightly, this hasn't happened.

So this time, when the result was going to be losing his top player before a pivotal season, Henry saw he had a legal right (due to Suarez's breach of contract) to stand his ground and took advantage of it. This decision has a number of cons - by not following the unwritten rules of the market and accepting the bid, Henry potentially hurt business relationships with both a) Arsenal and b) Suarez, who both would have been aware of Liverpool's decision and the underpinning argument months ago. What we can be certain is not a con is the risk of legal action from Suarez - it'd be tough to find a judge that would rule in his favor, and you can be sure that both FSG's and Suarez's legal teams knew that and said as much.

So now we ask why John Henry chose to disclose this information, which could spread the damage to relationships with other clubs (who now will think Liverpool aren't playing by the unspoken rules) and other players, both in our own dressing room and with other teams (who now will think Liverpool might not respect their wishes if they want to move).

Well, the timing of the statements answers that - Suarez has reupped and seems genuinely happy in Liverpool, so it's doubtful other players in the LFC dressing room are going to be too upset by this (if they hadn't known already). Additionally, Henry probably WANTS the other teams to know Liverpool isn't playing by the rules - if you don't respect the contracts we have with our players, we will not do business with you. It's a shot across the bow before this transfer season that we will only sell when we want to, unless we have absolutely no other legal options.

Additionally, it sends a message to FIFA and UEFA from one of their owners that the system needs to be fixed. It's possible this one statement doesn't do anything, but the location he gave the quotes is fairly aggressive. The Sloan Conference is an academic conference which is attended by many of the top minds in American sports - GMs, owners, reporters, media executives, and so on. Bringing up these issues in this forum could scare off potential American investment, both in the form of media (new fans) and capital (new owners).

In summary, John Henry's statements will send a message both to competitors and the overseeing body, without having a negative impact on the morale of players or the legal situation in question. Seems like a fairly shrewd move.

And no, neither Arsenal or Suarez will be able to do anything about this.