A former Premier League defender has revealed was tempted to throw a party when Luis Suarez left Liverpool to join FC Barcelona in 2014.
THe Uruguayan spent three years at Anfield where he bagged an impressive 82 goals and 47 assists in 133 appearances.
Former Stoke City defender Ryan Shawcross reveals the former Reds striker Luis Suarez was the best he came up against
"[Luis Suarez is] the best player I ever played against by a country mile," Shawcross, who now plays for David Beckham's club Inter Miami in the US, told Stoke-on-Trent Live.
"We got a couple of clean sheets against Liverpool when Suarez was in their team but I just couldn't work out how to stop him.
"I researched strikers before a game and I'd come up with a plan – and Suarez would just do something different.
"He used to drop to get the ball to feet so I would get right behind him up close… and he'd go behind. It'd be up in the air and I'd at least think that was my domain… and he'd win the header.
"I couldn't come up with a formula. He had all the attributes and he had that aggression too. I used to like to give an opponent an early kick as a marker – but he'd get in there first and do it to me!
"Stoke fans would sing about him and I'd just be thinking: 'Don't wind him up! Please be nice to him!'
"I know he has done some daft stuff at timesHaa but for the majority, he was controlled, and making him angry would just make it even harder.
"He had all the facets and I was delighted when he moved to Barcelona. I was tempted to throw a party and invite all the other centre-backs in the Premier League."
