In what was the biggest of transfer sagas this summer, Arsenal tried and failed to land Liverpool hitman Luis Suarez. It was said that the Uruguayan’s release clause was £40m and the Gunners tried to trigger the clause by bidding a pound higher ( £40,000,001 ) than the reported amount. However, Liverpool managed to hold on to their star, even after knowing that they could be taken to the court. A plot well played by their owner John Henry, who has now revealed a set of quotes about the secrets behind the summer saga.
Talking in the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference on Saturday, Henry said:
“Luis Suarez is the top scorer in the English Premier League, which is arguably the top soccer league in the world. He had a buyout clause of £40m. Arsenal, one of our prime rivals – this year we’re tied for 2nd … we’re actually 2nd because of goal difference.”
“They offered £40m+£1. What we’ve found … is that contracts don’t seem to mean a lot in England – actually, in world football. It doesn’t matter how long a player’s contract is, he can decide he’s leaving.”
“We sold a player, Fernando Torres, for £50m, that we did not want to sell, we were forced to. Since apparently these contracts don’t seem to hold, we took the position that we’re just not selling [Suarez].”
“It’s been great for Luis, it’s been great for us, and what will happen at the end of the year I think we’re going to make the Champions League, we have a small chance of winning the Premier League this year.”
“We have 3 gentlemen up front Suarez/Sterling/Sturridge, [they] are young, I think Luis and those 3 could be together for a long time.”