Luis Suárez ready for Grêmio challenge
Having been unveiled as a Grêmio player, Luis Suárez vowed to help his new club get back into contention for the Copa Libertadores.
Luis Suárez is gearing up for what he believes could be the greatest challenge of his career after joining Brazilian side Grêmio. The 35-year-old was on the market as a free agent after leaving Nacional just before the Qatar World Cup, at which he started two of Uruguay’s three group stage games as they suffered a surprise early exit.
Reunited with Lucas Leiva
The former Liverpool, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid striker penned a two-year contract with Grêmio on New Year’s Eve. Renato Gaúcho’s team won promotion back to the Brazilian top flight after a one-season spell in Serie B last season. Suárez will be reunited with his former Liverpool team mate Lucas Leiva - the two players spent four seasons together at Anfield from 2010 to the Uruguayan’s departure in 2014
Asked whether joining Grêmio represented the biggest challenge of his career, Suárez told the club’s media channels: “It could be, but I can also compare it with my time at Atlético Madrid. I won the league with Atlético when Real Madrid and Barcelona dominated football in Spain. This one might be even more difficult, but I am convinced we have an incredible team and a coach that does things well and that has a great influence. I always liked challenges. Coming to a club with so much history, a great club from Brazil, always gives you hope. For a team to come from Serie B and want to fight with the best in Brazilian football is a very nice challenge, for Grêmio to return to where it deserves to be, among the teams that go to the Copa Libertadores, to be fighting up there and creating a good team.”
New chapter
Suárez scored eight times in 14 appearances as Nacional won the Primera Division title last year, and though the 35-year-old admits he is no longer the player he once was, he is confident he can make a difference. “I am not the Luis Suárez of 2015, 2016 or 2013. I’m not, that’s obvious. I am not stupid,” he said. “I am not going to run 50 metres, because I am not that player anymore. But maybe with my movement 50 metres from goal, my team-mates can benefit, because it is a team game. What I am going to promise is compromise, camaraderie, attitude, hunger and goals.”