Having captained Uruguay at the London Olympic Games, Suarez returned to Melwood ahead of the start of the new season and signed a new long-term deal to commit his future to Liverpool. The Uruguayan found the target 30 times in all competitions during a remarkable season and received the Standard Chartered Player of the Season award by a landslide majority. Having registered a ratio of more than a goal a game with a series of phenomenal displays in the first half of the next campaign, in December , Suarez signed another new long-term contract with the club.
By the conclusion of , the forward had found the back of the net a staggering 31 times in league football - thriving in partnership with Daniel Sturridge - to contribute to a second-place finish for the Reds, who pushed the title race to the final day. Among that haul was a four-goal salvo against the unfortunate Norwich City, featuring two genuine Goal of the Season contenders, and efforts past the likes of Everton, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
Luis' unforgettable displays were rewarded with a host of honours, including the PFA Players' Player of the Year, the Football Writers' Association's accolade, three prizes at the club's inaugural Players' Awards Dinner and many more.
Suarez scored once more for Liverpool in , which came as the only goal in a home league game against QPR on 10 December. Suarez was given a one match suspension by the FA for showing his middle finger to Fulham fans in Liverpool's defeat to the Cottagers on 5 December, causing him to miss the game against Newcastle on 30 December.
The Fulham fans had been taunting Suarez about the investigation being undertaken against him regarding accusations he had racially abused Patrice Evra see below , to which Suarez retaliated. Suarez was then suspended for a further eight games, beginning with the league match away to Manchester City on 3 January , for the incident with Evra. The ban was met with a great deal of dismay by Liverpool fans, as there was a strong feeling at the club that Suarez was now the club's most important player, and there were fears that the club would struggle to find goals without the Uruguayan in the side.
Suarez made his comeback on 6 February , coming on as a second half substitute in a home draw against Tottenham. Suarez caused controversy by refusing to shake the hand of Patrice Evra before kick-off, and he was heckled throughout by the United faithful. Suarez scored from close range with 10 minutes to go, however it was only to be a consolation as Liverpool lost Suarez' next two goals came in the FA Cup- first on 19 February against Brighton, and then on 18 March in the quarter-final tie against Stoke.
Suarez opened the scoring in that game with an excellent long-range drive after a neat one-two with Maxi Rodriguez. Liverpool went on to win the game , sealing a second Wembley appearance of the season, following the club's success in the League Cup.
In the semi-final on 14 April, Liverpool prevailed against rivals Everton. Suarez scored Liverpool's equalising goal, capitalising on a poor backpass to slot in when one-on-one with the Everton 'keeper. All three of his goals were of a high standard, however his third was a sublime chip from over 40 yards which caught the Norwich 'keeper off his line.
The goal was quickly touted by some as being the Premier League's goal of the season. Suarez' next game was the FA Cup Final , which was his 50th appearance for the club. Unfortunately it was not to be an occassion to remember for Suarez, as the side went down to Chelsea. In the summer of , there were reports that Italian giants Juventus were preparing a lucrative offer for Suarez, however on 7 August , Suarez signed a new contract with Liverpool, putting the rumours to bed.
The news was received warmly by the Liverpool fans who had installed Suarez as a huge fan-favourite. Somewhat surprisingly, Suarez lost out to Martin Skrtel in the club's player of the season voting, however he did tally up an impressive four Player of the Month awards. After mistakes made by the club during the summer transfer window, Liverpool- now with new manager Brendan Rodgers at the helm- entered the season relying on Suarez and young new recruit Fabio Borini as the sole senior strikers in the squad.
This placed a greater onus on Suarez to perform to a consistently high standard, and in particular, to increase his goals-to-games ratio- a challenge that he would indeed rise to. Suarez netted his first goal of the season on 25 August with a well-executed free-kick in a draw vs Manchester City. On 29 September , on his 50th League appearance for the club, Suarez netted a hat trick which, like his first Liverpool treble, came at Carrow Road against Norwich. He also claimed an assist as he set up Nuri Sahin 's first- and what would prove to be only- League goal for Liverpool.
On 28 October , in the Merseyside Derby match away to Everton, Suarez helped Liverpool take the lead when his shot deflected off Leighton Baines for an own goal. Having been criticised midweek by Everton manager David Moyes for perceived diving throughout his Liverpool career- an accusation that had been levelled at Suarez by a number of people in the past- Suarez celebrated by running over to Moyes and simulating a dive.
Suarez then put Liverpool up and in the last minute of the game- with the score now tied at , Suarez scored what looked like the winner, only for the linesman to incorrectly call offside.
On 4 November , Suarez scored a much-lauded goal in a home game against Newcastle. With Liverpool trailing , Jose Enrique sent a long ball over to Suarez from his left back position. Suarez, under pressure from Newcastle centre back Fabricio Collocini, brought the ball down cleanly with his shoulder, took the ball around Newcastle 'keeper Tim Krul and slotted into the empty net. He followed up this goal with a strike against Chelsea in Liverpool's next game, and a brace against Wigan a week later to become the first Liverpool player since Dirk Kuyt in the spring of to score in four consecutive games.
Suarez then experienced a small goal drought, but netted again on 22 December with Liverpool's fourth goal in a victory over Fulham at Anfield. The goal was Suarez' 11th of the Premier League season, and saw him equal his goal tally for the entire season. He then surpassed this mark with a brace away to QPR in a win on 30 December Suarez then made it two doubles in two games when he scored two of Liverpool's goals in the victory over Sunderland on 2 January He also provided an impressive lobbed assist that put Raheem Sterling through on goal to open the scoring.
After initially taking a shot on goal that the goalkeeper saved, Suarez knocked the rebound down with his hand before slotting into the net. The goal put Liverpool up with the Reds ultimately prevailing Brendan Rodgers defended the Uruguayan, stating the handball was 'accidental. Unfortunately, Liverpool would suffer a shock defeat, although Suarez did score Liverpool's first goal and had a second ruled out for offside.
Petersburg, though Suarez almost dragged Liverpool to an unlikely victory. With Liverpool trailing from the first leg, Liverpool welcomed Zenit to Anfield however they conceded a goal early. Now needing four goals to progress, Liverpool hit three- two of which came from well-executed Suarez free kicks. However the fourth did not arrive and Liverpool crashed out on away goals.
Two of his goals came after he was played through on goal, first by Philippe Coutinho , then by Glen Johnson. These came either side of a free kick, which went in via a combination of the post and Wigan 'keeper Ali Al-Habsi. Liverpool won the match Suarez netted his 50th goal in a Liverpool shirt in the Reds' next match, at home to Tottenham on 10 March The goal came in the 22nd minute as he threaded the ball through the legs of Hugo Lloris from a tight angle after good build up play from Philippe Coutinho and Jose Enrique.
At , Suarez won Liverpool a penalty that Steven Gerrard converted, with Liverpool winning the match Following this match, Suarez failed to find the net again until 21 April , in a home tie against Chelsea. Suarez had first set up Liverpool's equalising goal when down by clipping a cross in to Daniel Sturridge with the outside of his boot, before netting Liverpool's second equaliser in the last minute with a close range header.
This made Suarez the first player to score 30 goals in a season for Liverpool since Fernando Torres achieved the feat in the season. Suarez had however conceded the penalty from which Chelsea went up, after handling in the area. Suarez also became embroiled in controversy as during the second half, he appeared to bite the arm of Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic when the two were involved in a scuffle in the box.
The incident see below caused a media furore, and Suarez was hit with a 10 match ban from the FA, thus putting an end to Suarez's season. Suarez's season did end on a positive note however as the fans voted him the Standard Chartered Player of the Season. He had also collected four Player of the Month awards throughout the season from the club.
Suarez had also been named in the PFA Team of the Year, however he missed out on the Player of the Year award, reportedly with the biting incident costing him a large number of votes. Whilst there, he gave a series of interviews in which he confirmed his wish to leave Liverpool. He initially cited the impact of the media in England, making his and his family's lives uncomfortable, and suggested he would be keen on a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid, who were credited with an interest in the Uruguay striker.
However Real Madrid failed to follow up their interest with a bid, and eventually Premier League rivals Arsenal stepped in. Suarez, still openly discussing his future whilst in South America, then began to talk of his wish to move to a Champions League club, and dropped his complaints about the English media, whilst stating that he was pleased with Arsenal's interest in him. The bid caused something of a stir as the specificity of the bid suggested they had been informed of the details of Suarez's contract clause, which ordinarily should remain confidential.
There were also reports that Liverpool and Suarez differed in their interpretation of the clause, with Suarez believing it was a full release clause.
Regardless, Liverpool instantly rejected the offer and principal owner John Henry tweeted "What do you think they're smoking over there at Emirates? Rodgers discussed how much of a mistake he felt it would be for Suarez to turn his back on Liverpool and join one of their direct rivals in the Premier League, who he also felt were no bigger as a club than the Reds, and cited the unwavering support given to him by Liverpool fans throughout his suspensions, suggesting Suarez owed the fans a debt.
Liverpool fans reacted angrily to news that Suarez was keen on the move to Arsenal, not least because Suarez seemingly had lied about the impact of the media on his wish to leave Anfield, but with Arsenal finishing fourth in the League during the season, they were perceived as the club Liverpool needed to aim to catch up to and overtake in order for the club to reclaim their place in Europe's elite club competition. However just a day later, Suarez garnered a furious backlash from the fans after he gave interviews to The Telegraph and The Guardian, affirming his wish to leave Liverpool and join Arsenal.
He stated that he would be prepared to hand in a transfer request and pursue legal proceedings against Liverpool if they continued to block his move to Arsenal, whilst also refuting all claims that he was being disloyal to the Anfield club regardless of their self-harming support for him during the Patrice Evra and Branislav Ivanovic incidents. The Merseyside club signed eight players on permanent deals in the summer transfer window and only one still dons the famous red jersey in the present day.
Sadly, persistent injuries resulted in Lallana's Liverpool career ending with a bit of a whimper and the year-old was allowed to join Brighton on a free transfer in Like Lallana, Lovren swapped Southampton for Merseyside in and the Croatian defender certainly produced some memorable moments in a Liverpool shirt.
But he was far too prone to errors for much of his time in English football and it's hard to label him as a successful signing due to that. Lovren is currently with Russian side Zenit Saint Petersburg. Markovic couldn't live up to the hype, though, making just 34 appearances for Liverpool's first-team.
After loan spells at the likes of Hull City and Sporting Lisbon, he joined Fulham on a free transfer in , before returning to Partizan Belgrade seven months later.
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