Even at 36, Luis Suárez showed he had enough left in the tank to shine in Brazilian football. His time at Gremio was brief but impressive, as the Uruguayan recorded 26 goals and 17 assists in 53 matches with the Tricolor Gaúcho. Although he had initially signed a two-year contract, the former Liverpool star ended up packing his bags a year earlier than expected due to pain in his right knee.
Both the player and the club announced the decision to terminate the contract with anticipation, which is why many clubs kept an eye on Suárez before he joined Inter Miami. One of those teams was Cruz Azul, whose football director Mathías Cardacio played next to “Lucho” both in the youth divisions of Nacional and in the Uruguay U-20 team.
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Cruz Azul tried to lure Suárez
“When Iván (Alonso) called me to come to Cruz Azul, the first thing I did was ask Luis if he wanted to come,” Cardacio told ‘Fuera de Juego’ on radio station Carve Deportiva 1010 AM in Uruguay.
Último partido de la gira.
Enfocados en lo que viene 👊🏼🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/wIc50ORVtk
— Luis Suárez (@LuisSuarez9) February 8, 2024
“I asked him what he was going to do even though we knew about Inter Miami. I said, ‘Brother, I’m going to Cruz Azul, what are your plans?’ And that’s when he told me that the Miami deal was already closed.”
Suárez chose to continue his career in Major League Soccer alongside his close friend Lionel Messi, who had already convinced former Barcelona teammates Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets to join him at Inter Miami.
