It turns out that Luis Suarez’s Uruguay retirement wasn’t just about his dodgy knees.
The Inter Miami striker stepped down from international duty in September after Uruguay‘s third-place finish at the Copa America.
Now aged 37 and regularly complaining about his deteriorating body, it seemed Suarez’s time was up, but he’s now revealed it had more to do with the coach, Marcelo Bielsa.
In a lengthy interview with DSports, the former Barcelona and Liverpool man laid into Bielsa, which may have wide-ranging ramifications.
“It’s a well-known thing in football, he doesn’t deal much with leaders or experienced players because he doesn’t like to,” Suarez began.
“The national team was above everything and I didn’t want to get involved in a conflict. It seemed better to me to keep quiet to avoid friction.
“At the Copa America, there were things that affected me, that hurt me a lot. But I had to keep quiet out of respect for the national team.”
Suarez didn’t start a single game at the Copa and was twice left on the bench, but he explained that he never got an explanation.
He continued: “I went to talk to him, I sat down in front of him, I spoke to him for five minutes, looking him in the face, telling him that we, the players, were with him, that we were going to respect his decisions, everything that was going to happen.
“He looked at me and said: “Thank you very much Luis”. I got up and left. He didn’t answer me for the five minutes that I spoke to him, and I stayed there, waiting for an answer. And I didn’t get an answer.”
He went on: “In the Celeste Complex, employees are not allowed to enter, greet us and eat with us. They even have to be careful which door they have to enter through. It breaks my heart that the Complex is like this today.
“One legendary staff member today has to go around the complex to eat because he can’t go through the kitchen.
“The next day, the coach explained that the Uruguayans were playing for the people. We all looked at each other and said: how can we do this for the people if we are asked not to greet them?”
Referencing Matias Vecino who retired last May, Suarez finished: “If a 30-year-old player takes this decision, it is because he has reached the point where he feels neglected, where he feels he has been underestimated.
“It is not surprising that cases are multiplying. I think we have to set a limit. Afterwards, people will attack players who do not want to come to the national team.”
Leave a Reply