Gerrard: Foreign players want to play for Real or Barca... Fact!

I don't dispute the reality that Stevie paints... I'm just, well, not sure that players like Suarez have the right priorities in order.

Barcelona will never be Suarez's team.  Unless Messi suffers from a catastrophic decline in form, there's no way Suarez will become the focal point of Barcelona's offense.  His situation might have been easier if he was able to play as well from the right wing as he does from the left wing (and that's assuming he'd be willing to do what Sturridge had been willing to do for him this past year and a half), but he only did so situationally at Liverpool.

Suarez, in all likelihood may not even become second fiddle to Messi.  Barcelona spent only slightly less money to get Neymar, and he's clearly a focal point for the future.  More importantly, unlike Suarez, Neymar's position doesn't conflict with Messi's - it supplements it.

Suarez doesn't even have youth on his side - he's five months older than Messi, and five years older than Neymar.  He's in his prime of course, but the point is that - unless Messi gets hurt or inexplicably declines in form - Barcelona will never be Suarez's team.

Hence why I don't necessarily get Suarez's priorities.  I'm sure he'll get to lift trophies in Spain.  With luck, he might also get to lift European trophies as well.  Any talk about him being one of the top three strikers in the world will disappear, though.  He will become a supporting asset for the man already considered by many (by most?) to be the greatest active player, period.

Staying with Liverpool offered no guarantees, but it would have been a massive statement in terms of where the club was and what its aspirations were.  I genuinely don't think Alexis would blow off Liverpool had Suarez stayed.  At that point, knowing that getting a high-caliber centre-back and left-back was going to happen anyways, you're really just one marquee midfielder signing from vying for any trophy.

More importantly, anything that this club would have achieved afterwards would have had Suarez's stamp on it far more than anything he gets at Camp Nou.  Sure, we'd all have been in seventh heaven over Stevie finally lifting the League trophy, but does anyone doubt #19 would have been directly tied with Suarez?  This would have been *his* club in a way that only two or three other players have known in England during this century.

It will be interesting to see how Suarez fits into the Barca set up where he isn't the main focus,

Will he get frustrated if he doesn't get the service and it all goes through Messi ?

Likelihood is though he will find a way to work work Messi and he will add that cutting edge they've sometimes lacked against the better organised teams . My guess is he will be unstoppable in that side and take La Liga by storm.   

He will make sure he is the main focus.  If anyone's going to be crying into their cornflakes it will be Messi.  Messi will probably end up at PSG next year for some ridiculous fee.

I think he will be unreal with messi. Suarez anticipation is almost supernatural not just where to receive the ball but reading other players runs and laying the ball off to them, accurate too. Messi and him could be insanely good. I think Suarez will tear that league a new one. He's such a tit but he is an incredible player.

I don't think Suarez is arsed about being top dog or has an ego in the traditional sense of the word, don't think he'll be fussed about Messi, think he just wants to win lots of shit and live by his folks. The arsenal flirtation was absolutely baffling though.

The arsenal flirtation was absolutely baffling though.

That was more about LFC than anything else. Which is why he came to his senses in the end.

Arsenal was just what he saw as a fast(er) track ticket to Spain.

What annoys me more than anything is that Barcelona are supposed to be banned from signing players for this window, they broke the rules regarding signing youth players something like ten times. If the rules were upheld they would not be able to sign him and Suarez would have no choice but to give us another year as Madrid were looking else where for a striker.

They appealed the ban got it suspended and have now spent over 100 million on players which means they just sidestepped the ban because they wont need any players in the next window.

It seems breaking the rules matter but not if there's millions of pounds to be made in agents fees.

Bunch of cunts.

janmolby knows.

Bloody foreigners - over there, taking their own jobs.