Suarez refuses to say sorry 12 August By Sami Mokbel And Dominic King London – Luis Suarez’s relationship with Liverpool will hit a new low this week when he refuses to apologise for his controversial attempts to engineer a move to Arsenal. Sources close to the Uruguayan believe his relationship with manager Brendan Rodgers is beyond repair after the bitter transfer wrangle that has overshadowed the Merseysiders’ pre-season. Suarez is training alone at Liverpool’s Melwood HQ, and Rodgers insists he will not be allowed to rejoin his teammates until he apologises for last week’s public outburst, in which he made it clear he wanted to quit Anfield for the Emirates. But Daily Mail understands Suarez will refuse to say sorry, believing he has been betrayed by Rodgers over what he views as broken promises. He believes he struck a gentlemen’s agreement with Liverpool, allowing him to leave the club if they received an offer from a side playing in the Champions League. Arsenal have already seen two formal offers rejected, the latest of which was a cheeky £40,000,001 bid which the Gunners believed would trigger an escape clause in Suarez’s contract. But Arsenal are still hopeful of landing the South American and will make an improved offer. Arsenal are expected to complete a £14m deal for Luis Gustavo, the 26-year-old Bayern Munich defensive midfielder, this week. The Suarez furore has turned the Liverpool spotlight on Daniel Sturridge, who is almost certain to start the season after returning from injury in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat by Celtic in Dublin. Rodgers wants the striker to seize the moment. With Suarez banned for six games at the beginning of the campaign, Sturridge has an opportunity to establish himself as Liverpool’s main striker. And that, in turn, could boost his England chances. Rodgers needs the 23-year-old to show he is ready to handle the responsibility and pressure that comes with being Liverpool’s focal point. “He is aware of the opportunity,” said Rodgers. “There were maybe teething problems when he came in January but once he got his head around that and the demands of playing at a big club regularly then he was terrific.” “He was in really good form at the end of last season, which got him called up for England, and it was unfortunate that he got a bad injury, but I can have no complaints about how he has worked. He has wanted to be in this position – leading the attack for a big club with everything that brings. “We will have a behind-closed-doors game for him this week when the others are on international duty to keep him ticking over.” – Daily Mail
Posted on: Mon, 12 Aug 2013 13:16:03 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015