Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has admitted that his side were ‘very close’ to sealing a deal to bring Luis Suarez to the Emirates back in the summer of 2013.
The Uruguay international, who is currently in the ranks of Barcelona, had been the subject of a £40,000,000 + £1 bid from the Gunners four years ago – a fee which was alleged to have triggered the player’s buy-out clause at Liverpool.
However, the Frenchman was ridiculed for the misleading information at the time with Reds owner John Henry taking to social media via Twitter to ask: “What are they smoking over there at the Emirates?”
Wenger, in an exclusive interview with BeIN Sports, confirmed there had been an agreement with Suarez, and the deal would have gone through if they were no complications regarding the minimal release clause.
“He was very close [to signing for Arsenal]. We had an agreement with the player,” he told beIN Sports. “We had been wrongly advised that he had a clause, with a minimal clause, but we had an agreement with the player. You can ask him.
“I’m convinced he wanted to join us and then they sold him. They kept him one more year, improved his contract and promised to sell him the year later to a club abroad.”
The South American footballer therein spent an additional season with the Merseyside giants where they came close to their long-awaited title before accepting a move overseas with Barcelona.
He has since formed an excellent bond alongside Neymar and Lionel Messi in the attack front, netting an impressive tally of 114 goals in exactly 136 outings for the Spanish champions with 29 of those coming this season(as per Who Scored).
