An open letter to Suarez: From a Mancunian

Respected Luis,

Let me start off with the customary appreciation for the great campaign you’ve had. Your dribbles, nutmegs and goals have silenced your critics and won you many admirers for your flamboyance on the field. The chant of ‘Luis Suarez can only nutmeg, not score’ has well and truly been put to bed. After El Nino left Merseyside for supposedly greener pastures, the Koppites bestowed the golden brow upon your head, as a token of their expectations from you to carry on the legacy left behind by the former No. 7′s of Anfield! And under the watchful guidance of King Kenny, you were expected to blossom as a talent to which the world would stand up to and say – ‘He is the natural heir to Liverpool‘s throne of glory.’

And you did not disappoint either. After proving your mettle on a “cold and bitter” night at the Britannia, Sir Alex Ferguson’s army were dispatched in style with an exhilarating display of ruthless forward play. The dancing feet, like a Ballerina in full swing, left the Manchester United defenders for dead – the ‘big and bad’ Wesley Brown would have definitely had nightmares about you for days. The supporters finally had something to cheer about in an otherwise dismal (as expected) campaign. But with new owners who were committed to the cause of the club, and the presence of King Kenny on the touchline, the motto of next year being Liverpool’s year seemed as realistic as ever. With the Brazilian grit of Lucas Leiva, the flair of Stevie G in midfield, and your magic combined with the bullishness of Andy Carroll (the latest English sensation in the blocks) upfront, the fans were set to taste the sweetness of winning trophies once again.

Unfortunately, things did not pan out as expected and despite the club winning its first trophy in nearly 6 years, the focus lied somewhere else. Your failure to come to terms with the English vocabulary cost you and your club dearly! Being slapped with an eight-match ban alongside being tagged as a ‘racist’ would have definitely been a poisoned chalice to swallow. Throughout this storm, the manager went overboard in protecting his golden child and kept his faith in you. The fans stood beside you and sang your name as you watched your team stutter and stumble, from your television set. The negrito-gate was meant to be a learning curve for you as a person, but it seems that you haven’t learnt much after all.

The past serves as a lesson for the future, but in your case, the past has just repeated itself all over again! This time around, there weren’t any kind words like Negrito for Ivanovic. Instead, there was a bite on the hand. Just another small repercussion of the occasion getting the better of you. Though it went un-noticed during the game, the FA rightly dished out yet another eight-match ban after subsequent investigation. And to think, your fate has already led you to serving a four-match ban during your stint with Ajax for the same reason – biting!

For all the love and unconditional support received in these years, the fans of the club now get to hear your desire to leave Anfield because the pressure and the ferocity of the English media is now going over the top for you? Not a good way to declare your intentions, Luis! Flirting with your desires in public is not the best way to repay your fans who have stood beside you, who have even gone against their own ethos at times.

As a Mancunian, I have always believed that a football club survives irrespective of who arrives and who leaves. When Cristiano Ronaldo decided to follow his predecessor to Real Madrid, there were concerns from many quarters that United would never be the same force again. But today, here I am, writing this letter, still reveling in the 20th league title that my club has won this season.

As Real Madrid among a host of other clubs hover like sharks for your signature, you leave behind a club that has never deserted you, even it meant putting its own reputation at stake. Both Liverpool and its fans will move on as they have in the past – the departure of Fernando Torres shows you just that. At Liverpool, you would probably have had to be patient when it came to competing with the elite of European football, but the warmth and affection that the Kop can dish out to its icons is something that the vociferous faithful of Real Madrid and Barcelona will never be able to give you.

As a Mancunian, I would want you to leave for reasons obvious, but the football fan inside me sheds a tear at the prospect of you leaving the Shankly Gates behind you. With the influx of Qataris and Arabs, romance in football is counting its last breaths. At the end of the day, if you decide that moving away from Liverpool is the best choice for you, your daughter and your wife, then so be it!

Here’s a Mancunian signing off with ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone, Luis!’

Regards,

A forced admirer.