Gus Poyet hopes under-fire Liverpool striker and fellow Uruguayan Luis Suarez will not leave the English Premier League.
Liverpool’s Suarez has been subject to fierce criticism since being found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra in October, then refusing to shake his hand before last week’s match between the two clubs at Old Trafford.
Speaking ahead of his Brighton team’s fifth-round FA Cup tie away to Liverpool, Poyet hopes the incidents will not lead to Suarez leaving the country.
“I am a fan and I want him to play in England, so I just hope that everything for Luis from now on is normal,” Poyet told The Mirror.
“I hope he stays here, but I am not sure.”
“There are decisions you have to make in life and it depends very much on how things go for him in the next four months.”
Poyet said he had been in touch with Suarez on a frequent basis since the striker arrived in England last January, but did not foresee the trouble he has become embroiled in.
“We are in contact – I would say in six months we have spoken 10 or 15 times,” Poyet said.
“I called him because if someone is coming from Uruguay I like to make them welcome and see if they need help with anything.”
“I didn’t expect anything like this to happen, so it’s very difficult to advise in advance.”
“You cannot go through every single thing that could happen. But we talked about the normal things about football in England.”
“I am certain he will come back and play well for Liverpool. For Luis, football and family are everything, the most important things in life.”
“As soon as he goes through the tunnel and on to the pitch, that’s his life. He will die to play football and he will do it every week – it doesn’t matter what else has gone on.”
