Soccer

To sell Suarez to Arsenal ‘ludicrous’

Liverpool owner says striker not for sale for any price this summer

Liverpool’s principal owner John W Henry has said the club will not sell striker Luis Suarez under any circumstances this summer. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA
Liverpool’s principal owner John W Henry has said the club will not sell striker Luis Suarez under any circumstances this summer. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA
Andy Hunter
Fri Aug 09 2013 - 11:52

John W Henry has dealt an emphatic blow to Luis Suarez’s hopes of leaving Liverpool by stating the striker will not be sold to Arsenal or to any other European club – for any price – this summer.

Liverpool's principal owner described the prospect of allowing Suarez to join Arsenal as "ludicrous" as he went on the offensive following the striker's decision to air his grievances to the Guardian on Tuesday.

The Uruguay international has been accused of showing “total disrespect” by Brendan Rodgers and ordered to train away from the first-team squad. Rodgers has his employer’s backing to marginalise Suarez for the foreseeable future, in the absence of an apology from the player for the public outburst.

Suarez’s agitation for a transfer, Arsenal’s knowledge of a £40 million clause in the 26-year-old’s contract and submission of a £40,000,001 bid has only hardened Liverpool’s resolve not to sell their prize asset. Henry said he told Ivan Gazidis, the Arsenal chief executive, that Liverpool would not entertain a bid from them, a club they perceive as a rival for Champions League qualification before offers of £35 million and £40,000,001 were made. Liverpool’s principal owner has also told Suarez and his agent, Pere Guardiola, that their attempts to force a transfer have arrived too late in this transfer window.

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“We are not going to sell Luis,” said Henry, on a brief visit to Liverpool. “To sell to a rival for those positions, or one of them, would be ludicrous. Liverpool needs to be playing in Europe. It needs to be playing in the Champions League. That’s what Liverpool football club is about.”

Liverpool may yet face a legal challenge from Suarez over a disputed clause in his contract that the PFA chief executive, Gordon Taylor, concedes “does not say the club has to sell”. But even the threat of a mutinous Suarez and the prospect of his value diminishing next season will not alter Henry’s stance.

"I'm unequivocal that we won't sell to Arsenal, whatever the bid is," he said. "I have not said it to Stan [Kroenke, Arsenal's majority shareholder] but I had a personal conversation with others at Arsenal and told him we would not sell to Arsenal."
Guardian Service