"I warned him" - Luis Suarez reveals conversations he held with Liverpool star during difficult period last season
Former Liverpool hero Luis Suarez has revealed conversations he held with Darwin Nunez amid the Uruguayan's struggles last season.
Nunez joined the Reds from Benfica in July 2022 in a club-record £85 million deal including add-ons. The 24-year-old came in and out of form during his debut season at Anfield, managing 15 goals and four assists in 42 games across competitions.
However, Nunez has been in fine form this season, bagging seven goals and six assists in 17 matches across competitions. He took Suarez's No.9 shirt in the Uruguay national team after the Barcelona legend announced his international retirement.
Suarez alluded to this when detailing talks he held with Nunez. He told ESPN Argentina:
"I told Darwin about [taking] the number 9 [for Uruguay] in Qatar and we always talked about it before. He has a potential, a technical ability and a physical power that is proving it."
The former Reds frontman, who bagged 82 goals in 133 games at Anfield knows all about the difficulties that come with English football. He touched on this by claiming his former club asked him to talk to Nunez:
"I, as a teammate, am not surprised because I knew, until last year when he had a bad time in Liverpool I spoke with him, in Liverpool they told me to talk to him. I warned him and told him what English football was."
Reds fans will hope Nunez can follow in the footsteps of Suarez and become one of the club's greatest forwards. It's a big ask given that the Gremio striker is regarded as one of the Premier League's all-time greats.
Steven Gerrard hailed former Liverpool teammate Luis Suarez as the best player he played with
Steven Gerrard spent three seasons playing alongside Luis Suarez at Liverpool. The duo forged a formidable partnership for the Merseysiders that wowed fans at Anfield season after season.
However, Gerrard played with many talented forwards during his career with the Reds. Fernando Torres was another striker who starred alongside the Al-Ettifaq manager.
The former Liverpool captain acknowledged Torres as a phenomenal player but named Suarez as his greatest former teammate. He told Gary Neville's The Overlap in 2022:
"I get asked this question all the time. They’re both phenomenal, but I’d say Suarez because he had everything. How long have you got to describe him?”
Luis Suarez won the Premier League's Golden Boot in the 2013-14 season with 31 goals and won the League Cup with the Anfield outfit in 2012. He and Gerrard participated in 19 goals together during their time as teammates.