What Gary Neville thought of Luis Suarez when he first joined Liverpool and how he completely shocked him at Anfield
03/26/2025 03:00 PM
Liverpool have seen some phenomenal players come through the door at Anfield.
From Xabi Alonso and Fernando Torres during the Rafael Benitez era, to Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk arriving under Jurgen Klopp.
Jamie Carragher believes Salah is close to becoming Liverpool’s greatest ever player and at one point, a certain generation of Reds supporters were making that case for Luis Suarez.
The Uruguayan only won the League Cup during his time at the Merseyside club but the striker was a genius, and his talents came very close to winning the Premier League for Liverpool during the 2013/14 campaign.
Gary Neville had doubts about the former Ajax star when he first arrived at Liverpool, but the Sky Sports pundit was soon admitting that he got it wrong.
Gary Neville admits he got Luis Suarez opinion wrong
Luis Suarez ran riot during the 2013/14 season at Liverpool alongside Daniel Sturridge with the campaign arguably being the greatest seen from an individual at Anfield.
The Uruguayan produced 31 goals and 15 assists across 37 matches as part of a Liverpool team that was nowhere near as good as the current group Arne Slot is working with.
This was the season that left Neville performing a U-turn on the former Liverpool striker as the pundit labelled the Uruguayan an ‘impeccable’ talent.
“He has got to a level that I didn’t think he was capable of when I first saw him two years ago,” Neville said on Sky Sports back in 2014. “I thought that at that time, his game lacked maturity and decision making, but this year, everything’s come together at once.
“His appreciation of his teammates is so much better. His finishing is absolutely fantastic. What impresses me most is his attitude towards the game, it is impeccable.
“You talk about modern-day football players getting a lot of criticism for the fact that they don’t fight. Every time you see him play on the football pitch, it looks like his life depends upon it. I have to say you match that with the talent that he has, and you’ve got an incredible player.”
This season cemented Suarez as one of the greatest players to ever play for Liverpool, however, history will not look kindly on the Uruguayan star.
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Luis Suarez shouldn’t be considered a Liverpool great
From a talent point of view, it is hard to argue with Suarez being the best player to ever play for Liverpool as the striker was a genius and even reached another level once he moved to Barcelona.
However, the current Inter Miami star never stayed with the Merseyside club long enough, didn’t deliver enough trophies, and also brought controversy onto the Reds’ doorstep.
As a result, history will look back more fondly on the likes of Salah as the Egyptian superstar has won everything at Liverpool and is currently putting together a campaign that matches Suarez’s 13/14 season.
| Player (season) | Games | Goals | Assists | Minutes |
| Luis Suarez (2013/14) | 37 | 31 | 15 | 3249 |
| Mohamed Salah (2024/25) | 43 | 32 | 22 | 3696 |
That’s before Steven Gerrard and Kenny Dalglish come into the conversation. The duo are currently seen as the two greatest players to have ever laced up a pair of boots for Liverpool, but who is the best normally depends on the generation of fans you ask.
Suarez will always be remembered at Liverpool for what he did during the 2013/14 season and on a wider scale, the Uruguayan’s career will be hard for many footballers to match.
