“He did not exaggerate” - Real Madrid star backs Luis Suarez following attack on Uruguay boss Marcelo Bielsa for isolating national team
Real Madrid star Federico Valverde has backed Luis Suarez's claims of head coach Marcelo Bielsa isolating the national team players. The Argentine tactician had been in charge of Uruguay since 2023 and recently led the team to an impressive Copa America run this summer, where they finished third in the tournament in the USA.
However, the manager has fallen out with some members of the team, with former Barcelona star Luis Suarez telling Relevo (via Football Espana):
“At the Celeste Complex, employees are not allowed to pass and say hello and eat with us. They have to take care of themselves even through the door where they have to enter. It breaks my heart that in the complex they live like this today.”
Real Madrid star Valverde backed his compatriot's claims, saying (via Football Espana):
“What Luis said is all true. He never lied and never said things that were not true. He did not exaggerate at any time, he said things as they are. For my part, and like all the references, I speak in the dressing room. Talk to each other as a team, like what we always were and improve.”
The well-traveled manager is yet to respond to what could be the opening salvo of a Coup d'etat in the team. Uruguay face Peru on October 10 in the World Cup qualifiers.
When Luis Suarez revealed he nearly joined Real Madrid
Back in 2014, former Uruguayan international Luis Suarez revealed that he was close to joining Spanish giants Real Madrid from Liverpool. The striker instead joined their eternal rivals Barcelona and formed one of the deadliest attacking trios at that time alongside Lionel Messi and Neymar.
The striker spent two and a half years with the Reds which saw him bag 82 goals and 34 assists in 11332 minutes across 133 games before moving to Catalonia. However, he revealed that his career nearly went in another direction in a discussion with La Mesa (via Marca), saying:
"My agent spoke with Real Madrid, and everything was on the right track, they were thinking about selling Benzema to Arsenal, everything was already done. When the World Cup started, Barcelona came into the race, and obviously I preferred Barcelona. With the situation of the bite, Madrid lost interest, and Barcelona became more interested. In the end I had both options and I chose the Barcelona because it was my dream."
Luis Suarez went on to have an outstanding time with Barcelona following his transfer from Liverpool. He played 23856 minutes for Blaugrana spread across 283 games that yielded 195 goals and 113 assists.