WHEN LIVERPOOL SOLD Luis Suarez to Barcelona for €93 million in 2014, the vast majority of their fans were left disappointed. It’s easy to see why.
Despite all his well-documented controversies and a four-month ban for biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini during the World Cup still to follow, the Uruguayan was still loved at Anfield.
And while the Reds have struggled since his departure, the 29-year-old has elevated his game to another level in Spain.
When Suarez left the Premier League he departed as the league’s top scorer with 31 goals and the winner of the PFA and Football Writers’ Player of the Year awards, but it has got even better at the Nou Camp for the formidable striker as the figures show.
Yesterday’s hat-trick against Real Betis in the first league game of the season, was his fourth in his last six league games.
Amazingly, two of those hat-tricks came in matches in which he scored four goals – against Deportivo La Coruna and then Sporting Gijon, just four days later. Becoming the first player in La Liga history to score four goals in two consecutive games.
Consequently, the former Ajax striker has now scored 18 goals in his last eight games.
In fact, Suarez scored a total of eight hat-tricks in the last campaign – after netting just one treble in his first season with the club.
Last season, Suarez’s tally was 53 goals from 59 matches, 40 of which came from just 35 league games, and eight in nine Champions League apperances.
His form in Spain’s top flight led him becoming the first player other than Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi since 2009 to win Spain’s Golden Boot and the European Golden Shoe.
Which comparatively speaking makes his 25 goals from 43 games in his debut season look distinctly average, as Luis Enrique finally settled on playing Suarez as the main striker, pushing Messi to the right flank.
In total, it is 88 goals in 98 matches for Suarez in Spain. That’s not to mention the fact that the former Ajax striker has won the league and cup double in his first two season, as well as the Champions League and Club World Cup.
But these numbers were not enough for Suarez to be nominated for UEFA’s Best Player in Europe award this year with Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Antoine Griezmann getting the nod ahead of him.
He may have his eyes on the bigger prize though – the Ballon d’Or.
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