Luis Suarez has revealed he almost joined Real Madrid before the 2014 World Cup before his eventual move to Barcelona from Liverpool.
The Uruguayan was hot property in the summer of 2014, having just plundered 31 goals in 37 games for the Reds and collected the PFA Player of the Year and Premier League Golden Boot awards.
His displays led to an Anfield exit for the forward, but the destination could have been very different.
Speaking in an interview with radio station DelSol 99.5 FM, the striker, who recently moved to MLS club Inter Miami, admitted he was close to joining Real Madrid before the controversy surrounding him at the World Cup saw them cool their interest.
Suarez says that a deal for Karim Benzema to move to Arsenal was in motion and he was set to replace the Frenchman at the Bernabeu, but in the end, when Barcelona joined the race, he chose to join the Catalans.
'Before the 2014 World Cup, Real Madrid wanted to sign me, and everything was on track.' Suarez revealed.
'They were planning to sell Benzema to Arsenal; it was all done. When the World Cup started, Barca joined the race, and obviously I preferred Barca.
'With the bite situation, Madrid lowered their interest, and Barca became more interested… In the end I had both options and I chose Barca because it was my dream.'
The bite situation Suarez was referring to was his clash with Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini in Uruguay's final group game, where the striker was seen taking a chunk out of the centre-back's shoulder with his teeth.
It was the third time in his career that Suarez was involved in biting a teammate and was subsequently banned for nine international matches - missing the rest of the tournament - and was forced to pay a huge fine.
According to Suarez the incident saw Real Madrid lower the interest in signing him, allowing Barcelona to enter and then win the race for his signature.
At the Nou Camp Suarez would go on to form a formidable attacking trio with Lionel Messi and Neymar, and score 198 goals for the club.
He won four La Liga titles with the club, as well as the Champions League in 2015 before moving to Atletico Madrid in 2020 - where he won another La Liga crown.
Since then Suarez has turned out for Nacional and Gremio before he linked-up with old teammate Messi and Miami before the start of the new MLS season.
Tony_A
387
He didn't choose Barcelona initially. He got a ban for biting Chiellini during the world cup and then Real Madrid dropped their interest.
itz_me_ojei
321
Luis Suarez🗣️ 🎙️: “When I arrived at Barcelona, I arrived as a star with Neymar and Messi already there. People were saying that 3 stars together wouldn't work. We didn't compete with each other. We didn’t want to do anything else but win and play well together." 🗣️🗣️“In the penalty kicks, Messi was first, then Neymar and I was the last, but we were smart in sharing and from there the partnership began and continued even outside the field, and this is very important. We have achieved everything together“ 🔵🔴 Best trio in club football 💙❤️
IsahAliyu
279
Thank god you didn't join us, let's cool down Madridstars 🫶
itz_me_ojei
211
Luis Suarez:🗣️ "Before the 2014 World Cup, Real Madrid wanted me as they wanted to sell Benzema to Arsenal. Barça at the time were interested and Luis Enrique was pressing. The bite issue happened and Barça continued to want to sign me despite the ban. I will always be grateful for that."
ishti
204
Suarez almost joined Real Madrid, but his Teeth was Offside.