Luis Suarez was believed to be on the cusp of ditching Liverpool for Arsenal a year before he swapped the famous red shirt for life in Barcelona.
There were reports in 2013 that suggested Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher both convinced the Uruguayan to give it more time at Liverpool.
Whatever they did – it worked! Suarez stayed with the Reds for another year and earned his dream move to the Catalan club after another scintillating season in the Premier League.
Carra believes that Arsenal weren’t good enough for the forward, but admits it’s difficult for players to resist the allure of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
“I think of Luis Suarez when he was at Liverpool,” he told Sky Sports when talking about Eden Hazard’s proposed move to Real Madrid.
“I wanted him to stay, but I knew in my head. This was something I spoke about with Steven Gerrard when he nearly went to Arsenal.
“We actually said, ‘You’re too good for Arsenal. If you’re going to leave, you have to go to Barcelona.”
Considering Suarez could have probably added only a couple of FA Cups to his CV if he joined Arsenal – I’m sure the Uruguayan has thanked Carra for his advice.
Since joining Barcelona, Suarez has won, among others, La Liga and the Coppa del Rey four times and has earned one Champions League title.
It’s fun to think about: what if we had Luis in Kyiv? It was inevitable though. If you read his biography he explains how living in Barcelona with his wife was always his goal.
The brilliant romantic.