adminLONDON. — Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has admitted the club will be ‘taking a step backwards’ if Luis Suarez is allowed to leave this summer. The England midfielder described the club’s top scorer last season as the best player he has ever played with and is keen to see the Uruguayan stay at Anfield despite interest from Real Madrid and Premier League rivals Arsenal.
“We need that one exciting marquee signing who can play in one of the attacking positions (working with Suarez),’ Gerrard told the Daily Telegraph.
“That’s why we are talking along the lines of keeping Luis because if the club lose Luis we take a step backwards. He’s the best footballer I’ve ever played with.
“Internationally, (Wayne) Rooney, (Paul) Scholes, (Frank) Lampard are all top players. John Terry and Rio Ferdinand at the back, all world-class footballers. Suarez is on a different planet to most.”
“Where sit actually right now, it all depends on what decision Luis Suarez makes in the next few weeks,’ he added in an interview with The Independent.
“How difficult it becomes for Liverpool. If we lose him then the challenge becomes even more difficult. It’s that simple.”
Gerrard also urged Suarez to turn down any move to the Emirates, regardless of the Champions League football on offer at Arsenal.
The Gunners submitted a £40million bid plus £1 last week for Suarez, which was immediately rejected.
And Gerrard, who has his testimonial at Anfield against Olympiakos this Saturday, believes that despite a number of new arrivals at the club persuading Suarez to stay would be the ‘best signing of the summer’.
Arsenal qualified for a Champions League play-off by the skin of their teeth last season, mounting a late season revival to see off north-London rivals Tottenham Hotspur to fourth place by a point.
Suarez previously stated that he wanted to leave England entirely to get away from the press, but it is now believed that he may be open to a move to work under Arsene Wenger.
“If he goes to Arsenal, it obviously makes our season that bit more difficult,’ Gerrard told the Liverpool Echo.
“It strengthens them an awful lot and they are our rivals for a top four position. From the club’s point of view it doesn’t make sense at all, no matter how much money is put on the table.
“Luis wants Champions League but so do I. If he was to stay around for 12 months and we achieved a top four finish, there is no better place in the world to play Champions League football than in front of an Anfield crowd.
“If he was to go abroad to a Real Madrid or Barcelona I would totally understand it. He’s a South American and from a family point of view, it’s where they all want to be.
“Some of the top players I’ve played — Javier Mascherano, Xabi Alonso — their dream was to play for Real Madrid or Barcelona.
“If I was Luis I would wait for one of those two clubs because I think he’s good enough to play for either of them.’
Gerrard, 33, added: ‘If we get the couple of marquee signings we need and keep Luis that will give me confidence that we can compete. Keeping Luis could be our best signing of the summer.’
Suarez is expected to play a part in his captain’s testimonial this weekend, which would be the first time he has played at Anfield since getting a 10-game ban for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic.
“I think he will get a very good ovation because the fans will want to show him how much they want to keep him,’ Gerrard added.
“You can understand the frustration because they don’t want to lose a top player. It’s similar to when they didn’t want to lose Fernando Torres. It hurts them a lot.’ — Mailonline.
Online Reporter