Luis Suarez left Liverpool team-mates stunned with training ground antics

Luis Suarez left his Liverpool team-mates stunned with his training ground antics when with the club during his playing career.

The Uruguayan footballer set the standard in every training session at the Merseyside side and even battled on through injury, according to former teammate Sergi Canos.

The striker managed to get himself 82 goals in 133 appearances for the Reds between 2011 and 2014, changing the game for better but also for worse in some instances.

Canos arrived at the Premier League outfit as a 16-year-old from Barcelona in 2013, enduring one season with Suarez, after being invited to train with the senior squad by manager Brendan Rodgers on some occasions.

Luis Suarez’s mentality is absolutely elite 🙌@neiljonesgoal spoke to former Liverpool man Sergi Canos about training with the very best 💪 pic.twitter.com/XC3RmJo54T

— Goal Africa (@GoalAfrica) February 23, 2021

Now the winger, who is playing a key part of Brentford chances for promotion to the Premier League this season, has spoken to Goal about the first time he met Luis Suarez and saw his elite work ethic in person and on the training ground.

“He was fantastic,” Canos said.

“It was the first time I thought okay, this is Luis Suarez who is scoring goals every weekend, earning who knows how much, and he’s training like this on a Monday?!

“I remember the very beginning of one training session. I was very good friends with Jose Enrique, and all the Spanish guys used to have breakfast together. Luis had something going on with the nail on his foot. I don’t know what happened, but he was limping.

“And Jose Enrique was like: ‘Well it’s Monday, don’t train’. Luis was like: ‘Maybe, maybe, I’ll ask the physio’.

“And he went out and trained, limping, on Monday! They’d just played on the Saturday! I went home and I was amazed. I was like: ‘This guy loves football!’

“He just said: ‘I can’t stay inside, I just want to go outside and train with you guys!’ We were like: ‘Yes, but what’s the point?!’

“Now I understand that there is a point. Now, I’m like this. That’s why the standard has to be up here.”

As well as surprising players on the training ground there has been many a time that we have seen Luis Suarez playing up with his antics, and at time it left Liverpool fans rather miffed off.

We know how crazy he can be, and whether it’s been in the Netherlands, England, Uruguay or Spain, he’s never shied away from the limelight.

Suarez stunned supporters, staff and teammates by pulling opposition player’s hair (notably Rafael), putting his middle finger up at the away fans, had his own hand of god moment against Mansfield, repeatedly dived (most controversial against Everton), bit numerous players’ skin (most talked about was on Ivanovic and Chiellini), racially abused Patrice Evra, and was known to punch players in the face.

SUAREZ’ CAREER:

Youth career
2003–2005 – Nacional

Senior career
2005–2006 – Nacional – 27 games (10 goals)
2006–2007 – Groningen – 29 games (10 goals)
2007–2011 – Ajax – 110 games (81 goals)
2011–2014 – Liverpool – 110 games (69 goals)
2014–2020 – Barcelona – 191 games (147 goals)
2020– Atlético Madrid – 20 games (16 goals)

National team
2006–2007 – Uruguay U20 – 4 games (2 goals)
2012 – Uruguay U23 – 4 games (3 goals)
2007– Uruguay – 116 games (63 goals)

Ever since leaving Liverpool, he’s continued to score goals, getting 147 in 191 games for Barcelona between 2014 and 2020, before then joining Atletico Madrid in 2020 and has since found the net 16 times in 20 games.

24-year-old Canos has featured in every Championship match for Brentford this term, taking them up to 2nd place and got to the playoff final last season.

CANOS’ CAREER:

Youth career
–2010 – Nules
2010–2013 – Barcelona
2013–2015 – Liverpool

Senior career
2015–2016 – Liverpool – 1 game (0 goals)
2015–2016 → Brentford (loan) – 38 games (7 goals)
2016–2017 – Norwich City – 3 games (0 goals)
2017– Brentford – 131 games (20 goals)

National team
2012 – Spain U15
2013 – Spain U16 – 2 games (0 goals)
2013–2014 – Spain U17 – 10 games (5 goals)
2016 – Spain U19 – 4 games (0 goals)

‘Suarez behaved like a rat!’ was something that John Aldridge said when the Barcelona star came up against Liverpool in a 2019 fixture.

Aldridge had no issue with the frontman revelling in the emotion of hitting the net but felt the man with strong ties to Liverpool should have shown more respect in other areas of his game.

The ex-Reds star told the Irish Independent: “Suarez behaved like a rat in the Champions League semi-final against Liverpool and it was out of order.

“I don’t have any problem with him celebrating his goal against Liverpool. Just because he used to wear a red shirt, it doesn’t mean he has to pretend he is not excited to score a great goal in a massive Champions League game.

“What was not acceptable was his antics on and off the ball, as he got into the faces of Liverpool players, fell over any time anyone went near him and tried to get his opponents booked at every opportunity.

“He was sneaky, he was nasty and he was everything people used to tell us Suarez was when everyone at Liverpool was trying to defend him.

“We know this is a guy who would run over his granny to score a goal, but everyone should have some respect for those who have been good to you in the past, but Suarez threw the support Liverpool gave him back in our faces.”