Gary Neville doesn’t expect Liverpool to offload Luis Suarez in the summer.
The Uruguayan international has been in scintillating form this season, having scored 23 goals in 33 Premier League appearances. Such a return has led to him being linked with a host of top clubs, including dethroned champions Manchester City and Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich, but the striker insists he wants to stay at Anfield.
Brendan Rodgers, the Reds manager, plans to build his team around Suarez, but once more, the player has made the headlines for the wrong reasons of late. On Sunday afternoon, the 25-year-old bit the arm of Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic during the 2-2 draw, and although this wasn’t seen by the officials, the FA look certain to punish him.
During his time at Ajax, Suarez received a seven-match suspension for biting PSV Eindhoven player Otman Bakkal during a goalless draw. And last season, he caused a storm by racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra, which resulted in an eight-match ban. Now, following this latest incident, question marks have been raised over his future.
However, former Old Trafford legend Neville claims calls to show Suarez the door are an overreaction. And thinking back to the days when he used to line up alongside the likes of Eric Cantona and Roy Keane, who were also no strangers to the odd controversy, he fully expects Liverpool to stand by their talismanic striker.
“As I have had team-mates who have done wrong and as I have done wrong myself in the past, do I throw you overboard?” he said during his analysis on Sky Sports Monday Night Football. “I would think they have let their team-mates and their football club down and created pressure. But I would never for one minute think, ‘throw the man overboard’.
“The idea Suarez can never play for Liverpool again or the idea he should be thrown out of the country, for me, is nonsense and an overreaction. He has made a big mistake. He has got to try and win people back. When you make mistakes, you have got to get better.”
