Luis Suarez has retired from international duty and has not held back on Uruguay manager Marcelo Bielsa, who he says left Darwin Nunez in tears during a recent half-time break.
Liverpool’s former No. 7 announced his international retirement last month, which led Nunez to pay tribute to his “idol” on social media.
Suarez has been a reliable sounding board and source of advice for Nunez throughout his young career, with the pair managing 13 international matches together.
But having hung up his boots for Uruguay, Suarez has hit the headlines for his criticism of Bielsa, who he says has created a bad atmosphere which players “don’t enjoy.”
In an interview with De futbol se habla asi, as quoted by ESPN, Suarez has revealed he saw Nunez “crying” after being on the receiving end of Bielsa’s criticism during a win over Argentina last year.
Suarez said: “I saw Darwin crying, and I told him: ‘You are here because of your own merit, because of how hard you work, you are a goalscorer and you are the best.
“‘You have to continue like this, forget what others say. Wash your face, go out and break it’.
“That is why when he scored the goal, I was the first one he greeted. For me Darwin needs affection, to be supported and containment, not other things.
“I ran into the coach in the hallway, and he told me: ‘We are not helping him with those things’. I was taken aback, and I told him that I had to support him.
“After the victory, Bielsa greeted me and said: ‘Do you know what happens if I don’t talk to him like that? You saw what he ran in the second half’.
“And I told him my part was to contain him.”
The game in question over the World Cup holders was in November and saw Nunez score after the break for his third goal in as many games, with his celebration taking him straight into the arms of Suarez.
From the outside looking in, Liverpool’s forward looks to have excelled under Bielsa’s management with 10 goals in his last 11 games, but Suarez has proven to be protective of the 25-year-old.
Despite serving just two games of his five-match ban for his actions at Copa America, Nunez is free to represent Uruguay in October after his case was taken to the Superior Court of Arbitration (CAS).
It means he can play in Uruguay’s two fixtures this month, but may yet still have to serve the final three games. At Liverpool, though, he will be aiming to adapt to Arne Slot’s style.
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