Luis Suárez

Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz born 24 January 1987 is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays for Spanish club FC Barcelona and the Uruguay national team as a striker. In July 2014, he moved from Liverpool to Barcelona for a fee reported by the English press in the region of £75 million (€94 million), while Barcelona claim a fee of £65 million (€81 million), making him the third-most expensive player in football history. The transfer took place after he had won the European Golden Shoe in the previous season with Liverpool. Suárez is widely regarded to be one of the best strikers in the world. In October 2015, he scored his 300th senior career goal for club and country.

Suárez began his career as a youth player for Nacional in 2003. He signed for Groningen in the Netherlands in 2006 and transferred to Ajax in 2007. In 2010 he helped Ajax win the KNVB Cup while becoming the league's top scorer with 35 goals in 33 games. He was also named Dutch Footballer of the Year, scoring 49 goals in all competitions. In the 2010–11 season, he scored his 100th Ajax goal, joining a group of players which include Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten and Dennis Bergkamp. In January 2011, Suárez transferred to English Premier League club Liverpool for €26.5 million (£22.8 million). In February 2012, Suárez won the Football League Cup with the club. In April 2014, he was named the PFA Players' Player of the Year and the FWA Footballer of the Year. As the Premier League's top scorer with 31 goals he won the Premier League Golden Boot, and shared the European Golden Shoe with Cristiano Ronaldo. In his first season at Barcelona, Suárez starred alongside Lionel Messi and Neymar, an attacking trio dubbed MSN (Messi, Suárez, Neymar), and helped the club win the continental treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League.

With 43 goals in 82 games for Uruguay, Suárez is the all-time record goalscorer for his national team. At the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa he played an important role in Uruguay's fourth-place finish, scoring three goals, and also blocked an extra time goalbound header with his hands during the quarter-final against Ghana. At the 2011 Copa América, Suárez scored four goals for Uruguay as they won a record fifteenth Copa América, and he was named Player of the Tournament. At the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Suárez scored his 40th international goal.

Suárez has been the source of much controversy throughout his career. As well as his 2010 World Cup goal-line handball, he has also bitten three opponents, the latest being Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup, has been accused of and admitted to diving, and the English Football Association found him guilty of racially abusing Patrice Evra, a decision Suárez disputes.

Style of play
Suárez creates goal scoring chances with his powerful shot, and "remarkable technical ability". Known for his direct running towards goal, Suárez has a particular penchant for nutmegging opponents (putting the ball through their legs). Harry Redknapp said that Suárez could play anywhere – as the target man or behind as a second striker. Uruguay coach Óscar Tabárez called Suárez "a great forward, an elite player among forwards in the world", and then Liverpool coach Kenny Dalglish said, "he's intelligent, he's had a fantastic education at Ajax." Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge said his abilities allow him to get into a position to score and evade defenders. Suárez has been praised for his work rate, and his quickness that allows him to attack from the outside. He also creates scoring opportunities for his team-mates.

Former Ajax coach Marco van Basten criticised Suárez for his tendency to pick up yellow cards. van Basten said he had a tense relationship with Suárez, although he conceded, "Luis is unpredictable, he’s hard to influence but that makes him special." At times, Suárez can be dominant but fail to convert his efforts into goals. Despite his weaknesses, Suárez’s leadership stood out to Ajax management.

Suárez has also been widely accused of diving. His manager, team-mates and various analysts have commented that this reputation for simulation has caused referees not to award him legitimate penalties. In January 2013, Suárez admitted to diving against Stoke City in an October 2012 match. This led his manager Brendan Rodgers to comment that his actions were "unacceptable" and he would be dealt with "internally" by the club. Suárez has also been accused of stamping on opponents in the Premier League and the Europa League. In December 2013, Spanish football website El Gol Digital ranked Suárez at 5th in its list of the world's dirtiest footballers.

Personal life
Suárez was born in Salto, Uruguay, the fourth of seven boys. His older brother, Paolo Suárez, is also a professional footballer, currently playing for Comunicaciones in Guatemala.

Suárez moved with his family to Montevideo when he was seven, and his parents separated when he was nine. In Montevideo, Suárez developed his football skills on the streets, while also taking up work as a street sweeper. The contrast between his life in Europe and the poverty he left behind has been cited as contributing to his periodic aggression on the field, as well as being a possible explanation for the more forgiving attitudes of the Uruguayan public and press towards such cases, compared to Europe.

Suárez is of mixed race, with public records indicating his having a black grandfather. The matter of ethnicity was raised in reporting on the Patrice Evra incident, where use by his grandmother, Lila Piriz, of "mi negrito" as a sobriquet has been offered to explain Suárez's repeated use of "negro" over the ~2 minute altercation; the FA judged his evidence unreliable, en route to an eight-match ban.

Suárez started to date Sofia Balbi at the age of 15 in Montevideo; the Balbi family moved to Barcelona in 2003, and Suárez's focus on football strengthened as a result as he wanted to follow them to Europe to join Sofia again. Suárez married her in 2009, and the couple have a daughter and a son. On 11 July 2014, Suárez joined Barcelona, allowing him to live closer with his wife Sofia's family. Suárez was quoted saying “' did all they could to get me to stay, but playing and living in Spain, where my wife's family live, is a lifelong dream and ambition. I believe now the timing is right.”