Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez has supposedly told his current club, Gremio that he intends to retire from football.
Suarez penned a deal with Gremio in January, which should have seen him remain at the club till December 2024.
However, it appears like from all indications, Luis Suarez will not continue his football career and he has reportedly chosen to retire from the game.
The man nicknamed El Pistolero also delivered in impressive style for the club, scoring 11 goals and making 8 assists in 25 games.
The former Liverpool forward apparently informed Gremio that his decision to retire from football is as a result of excruciating knee pain.
Throughout his stellar career, Luis Suarez was an instrumental player for club and country.
Many have also termed the Uruguayan International as one of the greatest strikers in the round leather game.
Gremio fans would miss Luis Suarez as he is set to retire
For fans in Porto Alegre, it looks like from all indications they would not continue to see and enjoy the brilliance of one of the game’s best players.
Luis Suarez career trajectory which saw him reach great heights kick started at Club Nacional.
He was remarkable for Nacional as a youngster and that caught the eye of FC Groningen in Europe.
In July 2006, Suarez joined Groningen and he stamped his authority all through his stay with the club.
The 36-year-old scored 15 goals and provided 7 assists in 37 appearances for Groningen.
Due to his remarkable performances for the Netherland club, he attracted interest from Dutch giants Ajax.
At Ajax, Luis Suarez took his qualities to a new level becoming one of Europe’s most promising strikers.
The Gremio forward scored 111 goals and provided 68 assists in 158 matches for Ajax.
He spent three-and-a-half years at Amsterdam before making a bigger leap to England, joining Liverpool in January 2011.
Suarez was really breathtaking for Liverpool
In like manner, Suarez was menacing in the English Premier League and he was really a handful for defenders.
The Uruguayan scored 82 goals and made 46 assists in 133 matches for the Reds, almost ending the team’s wait for a Premier League title in nearly 25 years.
Following his remarkable spell at Liverpool that was also filled with controversies, Barcelona signed him.
Suarez had to wait a while before he made his Barcelona debut as he was banned from all football activities for four months, after he was found guilty of biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini.
During his time with Barcelona, the mercurial attacker continued in his devastating manner.
Luis Suarez scored 195 goals and provided 113 assists in 283 games for Barcelona.
He afterwards moved to Atletico Madrid in 2020, helping the club wrestle the La Liga title off rivals Real Madrid.
Suarez was also impressive attacking wise for the Colchoneros, he scored 34 goals and provided 6 assists in 83 matches for the club.
He left the Spanish capital in June 2022 to join boyhood club CD Nacional on a free transfer.
Luis Suarez scored 8 goals and provided 3 assists in 20 appearances for Uruguayan club CD National.
At the twilight of his career, he decided to move away from CD National after just 5 months with the club.
Suarez penned a two-year deal with Gremio in January 2023 and has already begun to display his goal scoring prowess, unfortunately it appears retirement beckons.
Controversies
As Earlier mentioned, Luis Suarez is a man that is heralded with a lot of controversies.
He had a theatrical side to his game and was widely accused of diving. While at Liverpool, he admitted to diving against Stoke City in a match played in October 2012.
Luis Suarez was also reported to have racially abused Manchester United legend Patrice Evra in 2011.
During the regular traditional engagements before the commencement of a football game where players shake hands of their opposition players, Suarez refused to shake Evra and that resulted in a heated, brewing rivalry/hatred between the two.
Luis Suarez was banned for eight-games and handed a £40,000 fine for the incident.
The 36-year-old released an apology for his wrongful act, he said in a statement: “I have spoken with the manager since the game at Old Trafford and I realize I got things wrong.
“I’ve not only let him down, but also the club and what it stands for and I’m sorry. I made a mistake and I regret what happened.”
He added: “I should have shaken Patrice Evra’s hand before the game and I want to apologize for my actions.
“I would like to put this whole issue behind me and concentrate on playing football.”
Manchester United accepted his apology but the incident still continues to ring a bell in the minds of fans of both clubs.
Away from the Patrice Evra – Luis Suarez saga, Luis Suarez was twice punished for biting opposition players.
Luis Suarez’s biting saga
The Uruguayan was first banned for seven games for biting PSV Eindhoven midfielder Bakkal’s shoulder in 2010.
A popular tabloid in the Netherlands dubbed Suarez the “Cannibal of Ajax” and it was a nickname that stuck throughout his career.
His second biting incident was during a Premier League game on the 21st of April 2013.
During a 2-2 draw with Chelsea in a league affair at Anfield, Luis Suarez bit Branislav Ivanovic.
This incident prompted the UK then Prime Minister David Cameron to call on the FA to take a hard line with Suárez.
The then Liverpool star was then banned for ten-games for his misdemeanors.
His third biting saga was during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, it was in a group stage match between Italy and Uruguay.
Suarez bit Giorgio Chiellini and that resulted in FIFA taking the matter head on, giving him a four-month ban for his actions.
Theatrical acts
During the 2018 FIFA World Cup game against Portugal, following collisions with players of Portugal, Luis Suarez twice faked having a head injury.
On both occasions, it was seen that his head wasn’t touched.
Spanish football website El Gol Digital ranked Suárez number five in its list of the world’s dirtiest footballers in December 2013.
Luis Suarez’s handball against Ghana!
Suarez intentionally stopped a pin-point header at goal by Ghana’s Dominic Adiyiah by using his hands in a quarterfinal encounter during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
Prior to Uruguay’s game at the 2022 FIFA World Cup against Ghana which ended in a 2-0 defeat for the Black Stars, Luis Suarez maintained that he isn’t going to apologize to anyone for that handball.