Luis Suarez will not be sold to Arsenal for any price! – Liverpool owner

John W Henry has dealt an emphatic blow to Luis Suárez'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 Suárez to join Arsenal as "ludicrous" as he went on the offensive following the player's decision to air his grievances 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 Suárez for the foreseeable future, in the absence of an apology from the player for the public outburst.

Suárez's agitation for a transfer, Arsenal's knowledge of a £40m 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 £35m and £40,000,001 were made.

Liverpool's principal owner has also told Suárez and his agent, Pere Guardiola, that their attempts to force a transfer have arrived too late in this transfer window. "We are not going to sell Luis," said Henry, on a brief visit to Liverpool. "For all the top clubs it's extremely important [not to sell to a rival] but especially for Liverpool because we're not in Europe this year and have not been in the Champions League for a while. 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 Premier League arbitration hearing or legal challenge from Suárez 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 Suárez 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 [Gazidis] we would not sell to Arsenal."

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