Could Eden Hazard and Luis Suarez be about to make their swansong in the Premier League? Alvaro Montero assesses the situation.
Suarez left Liverpool for Barcelona in 2014 in a reported £75m deal and went on to win everything possible at the Nou Camp, including an historic treble in his first season in Catalonia.
Barcelona pushed him out of the club in a money-saving operation in 2020, selling him to Atletico Madrid, where he proved the decision-makers at Barca wrong by firing his new side to last season's La Liga title.
But this season, Suarez, who turns 35 later this month, has had to get used to spending more time on the bench under Diego Simeone and could be looking for an exit this summer when his contract expires.
Reports in Barcelona claim Suarez has had offers from Brazil and Saudi Arabia but would prefer a reunion with former Liverpool team-mate Steven Gerrard, who has already convinced Philippe Coutinho to join him at Aston Villa.
Asked about the potential of Suarez returning to the Premier League with Villa, Spanish football expert Alvaro Montero told Sky Sports News: "It is a possibility because Luis Suarez does not have as important a role as he did last season when Atletico Madrid won La Liga.
"He has got other players, such as Antoine Griezmann ahead of him.
"Diego Simeone does not seem to have the same confidence in him as last season. So I can understand why Luis Suarez is trying to find a way out.
"In this case, we know Steven Gerrard is a friend of his after playing in Liverpool and could be an option."
What Suarez would PL be getting?
Suarez's goalscoring exploits haven't slowed down at Atletico Madrid - he netted 21 times last season as Diego Simeone's side won La Liga - but Montero suggests his pace has reduced.
Asked what sort of Suarez the Premier League would be getting, Montero told Sky Sports News: "A very different Luis Suarez to the one we saw at Liverpool. He is 34-years-old, he is not as quick as he used to be - we can remember the speed he had at Anfield.
"But he has not lost the capacity to score goals inside the box, he is a very important striker to make goals in the final moment."
What about Hazard?
Newspaper reports in England suggest Newcastle are interested in Real Madrid's Eden Hazard; is there a chance the 31-year-old could also return to the Premier League?
"There has been no offers to Real Madrid for Eden Hazard," Alvaro Montero told Sky Sports News. "They would accept an offer if that were true. But there is a huge problem, because the player wants to stay in Madrid.
"It's his third season, but because of the injuries, he has not developed good football as we've seen him in Chelsea a few years ago. He wants to give himself a last chance and maybe finish this year and let's see what happens in the summer.
"He earns 14m euros per year after tax. It is a big amount of money and I would say only Premier League could afford that. I will say the only chance he has to go to a good market will be the Premier League. It is a good possibility for Eden Hazard to go to England."
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