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Luis Suarez reiterates he wants to leave Liverpool, citing the press who 'said I dived, moaned, postured, and was racist' as his reason

The striker has been strongly linked with a move to Real Madrid

Tuesday 11 June 2013 16:24 BST
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May 2013: After days of hints over an exit, during a press conference in Uruguay Suarez confirms he wishes to leave Liverpool, blaming press intrusion for he desire to go.
May 2013: After days of hints over an exit, during a press conference in Uruguay Suarez confirms he wishes to leave Liverpool, blaming press intrusion for he desire to go. (GETTY IMAGES)

Luis Suarez has again spoken of his desire to leave the Barclays Premier League, where he believes he has been mistreated by the press and public.

The Liverpool striker said he would be keen on a move to Real Madrid, but stressed that he had not received any offer from the Spanish giants.

He told the Uruguayan television programme RR Gol: "Every player would like to play for a huge team, and Real Madrid is a huge team. Every player wants to reach the top and Real Madrid are one of the top clubs, but everything that has been said so far is just speculation, I haven't received any concrete offers.

"I don't know if I will become a Madrid player, the only thing I know is that I have a contract."

Suarez has revealed before that he is not happy with life in the Premier League, where he feels he has been chastised by the media for his conduct, and aired his complaints once again.

"The press have made me feel bad since the moment I arrived in England, they have never judged me on how I play football, they judged me on my attitude," he said.

He also blamed his public perception for the reason he was not chosen as the PFA Player of the year last season, adding: "They said I dived, moaned, postured, they said I was racist, they said everything.

"They have never spoken well of me. That's why, when people said that I could have been chosen as the best player in the Premier League, I said: 'I'm relaxed, I know that in England I'm never going to be given an important prize."'

Although Suarez emphasised he enjoys playing for Liverpool and was particularly grateful to the support he has received from the Anfield faithful, he admitted his love for the club and its supporters may not be enough to convince him to stay.

"When I was a kid I dreamed of playing for Liverpool. I have been able to play with great players who know me well and I would love to spend many more years at Liverpool," he said.

"Their stadium is spectacular, their fans are phenomenal. Their fans have tattoos of me. I could never have imagined that.

"After the suspension the fans all supported me. That's something I remember and it has made me think 'Luis, forget it all and stay'.

"But I cannot forget it, because I have suffered, my family have suffered, and away from football I have a family that supports me, and these things hurt them."

The Uruguay striker also believes he has been victimised because of his nationality, pointing to the eight-match ban he received from the Football Association in 2011 for racially abusing Patrice Evra, compared with the four-game ban that was dished out to John Terry for a similar spat with Anton Ferdinand.

"They gave me an eight-match ban without any proof, but in the case of Terry, where they had proof and lip-readers, they gave him four," Suarez said.

"I'm South American and I think that's the root of all of this."

The FA declined to comment when contacted by Press Association Sport about Suarez's comments today.

PA

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