Arsenal
Arsenal Boss On ‘Agreement’ With Suarez & Failed £40,000,001 Liverpool Bid
Arsene Wenger has claimed Luis Suarez agreed to join Arsenal before Liverpool blocked the strikers move to north London back in 2013
Managers are now making plans for the summer transfer window so we’ll bring you all the latest news and gossip from around the globe. Today, Arsene Wenger opens up on his failed move for Luis Suarez…
Arsene Wenger has claimed Luis Suarez agreed to join Arsenal before Liverpool blocked the strikers move to north London back in 2013, according to a report in the Mirror.
Suarez became one of the most prolific strikers in Europe during his time at Anfield where he scored 82 goals and provided a further 53 assists during 133 appearances.
The Uruguayan international expressed his desire to leave in search of Champions League football in the summer of 2013 and he came close to making a sensational move to Arsenal.
Wenger has now recalled being wrongly advised that Suarez had a release clause in his contract that led to Arsenal making a now infamous £40,000,001 bid, which was mocked by Liverpool owner John Henry with a “what are they smoking over there at the Emirates?” Tweet.
The Arsenal boss insists that Suarez wanted to move to the Emirates and claims there was an agreement in place with the striker before Liverpool ended up persuading him to stay at Anfield for one more year with the promise of selling him abroad the following summer.
Wenger is quoted by the Mirror as telling beIN Sports:
“He [Suarez] was very close [to signing for Arsenal]. We had an agreement with the player. We had been wrongly advised that he had a clause, with a minimal clause, but we had an agreement with the player. You can ask him.
“I’m convinced he wanted to join us and then they sold him. They kept him one more year, improved his contract and promised to sell him the year later to a club abroad.”
Suarez ended up joining Barcelona in 2014 and has enhanced his reputation as one of the best forwards in the world having scored 113 goals and provided 65 assists in just 136 games for the Catalan giants.
The 30-year-old will always be one of those players that got away for Arsenal as it would have been a sensational coup had they been successful in luring him away from Liverpool.
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Alas, it will just be remembered as one of the most famous failed transfer sagas of recent times with John Henry’s Tweet still used to poke fun at the Gunners today.
