Luis Suárez will not leave Liverpool in summer - Brendan Rodgers

 

Brendan Rodgers has clarified Luis Suárez's position at Anfield by insisting there is no gentleman's agreement that the striker can leave Liverpool at the end of this season. He also said Liverpool will "fight tooth and nail" to keep the Uruguay international for the prime of his career.

Suárez's importance to Liverpool was illustrated brilliantly on Wednesday as he scored four goals in a performance against Norwich City that Rodgers bracketed alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

The Liverpool manager immediately claimed Anfield was a perfect fit for Suárez, although the forward's future will be under fresh scrutiny next summer should he enter the final two years of his current contract and especially if Rodgers' team do not qualify for the Champions League. The 26-year-old accused Rodgers of breaking a promise that he could join a Champions League club last summer at the height of his ultimately thwarted attempt to join Arsenal. And Rodgers has clarified there was no such agreement reached for this season in an attempt to pacify Liverpool's outstanding talent.

"There never was that (agreement) before and there never was that this summer," the Liverpool manager said.

"The contract was what it was. We want him to stay and with his contract running for two and a half years I am sure there will be something between now and the end of the season to keep him here but there will be a number of dependencies on that. But the most important thing is that the player is happy. I didn't sit in on the conversations but as I understand it there is no agreement of any kind."

Credit: Andy Hunter/Guardian