Former Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt has said his ex-teammate Luis Suarez ‘loves’ Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard amid links with a move to the club.
Reds legend Gerrard has already landed one of his old teammates with the loan signing of Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona, who started his Villa Park career in spectacular goal-scoring fashion.
Speculation is now increasing over a potential move for another former Red, Suarez, who’s currently in the midst of a rough patch with Atletico Madrid.
The Uruguayan joined Atleti for free from Barca in 2020 and went on to guide the team to a LaLiga title win, however, his relationship with manager Diego Simeone has since hit the rocks.
Suarez was seen insulting his manager during a recent loss to Sevilla, and has increasingly grown frustrated at a lack of minutes, but Kuyt believes his former strike partner would return to England if he had the chance.
“I hope [he will return], but I’m not sure to be honest, I’m not sure,” Kuyt told talkSPORT Breakfast.
“I think Luis had the opportunity after Barcelona to come back to the Premier League and he decided to stay in Spain, somehow maybe with the language he feels more comfortable.”
As was the case with Coutinho though, Kuyt thinks there’s one big factor that could persuade Suarez.
“I know he loves Stevie [Gerrard] as well, so probably he wants to work with him.”
Suarez, who famously lost a Champions League semi-final at Anfield with Barca despite a 3-0 first leg lead, had previously said he wouldn’t want to play for another English side.
“Playing for any team other than Liverpool in England would be hard,” he told World Soccer Magazine last summer.
“I had, and hope I still do have, such a good relationship with Liverpool fans that it would be strange for me to play for somebody else.
“It would have been special to win the league with Liverpool, but I am glad that their wait is now over. They look like a team that will compete for many seasons to come even if this one has not been the best for them. They are back where they belong.”
Kuyt played alongside Suarez for two seasons at Liverpool, winning the League Cup, and learned much about the game from such a fierce competitor.
“Luis is a great guy, he played in Holland for Groningen and later their rival Ajax, everyone knows I’m from Feyenoord so we were not best friends when he was arriving at Liverpool,” Kuyt said.
“Once we were teammates he was unbelievable. I learned a lot from him as a footballer but also as a human because when he came inside those four white lines he was crazy, he just wanted to win every game.
“A guy with a lot of tension but as soon as he came outside the pitch he was a completely different guy so it’s just crazy how someone can change once they play a game.”
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By: Connor Andrews
Title: Luis Suarez ‘loves’ Steven Gerrard and former Liverpool teammate Dirk Kuyt hopes they will reunite, but Aston Villa move may be complicated by previous comments
Sourced From: talksport.com/football/1024678/luis-suarez-would-love-steven-gerrard-reunion-aston-villa/
Published Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2022 12:52:28 +0000
