Luis Suárez, the charrúa gunman

Considered one of the best Uruguayan forwards in history, part of one of the most important offensive trios of South American players of our era, Uruguay national team’s all-time leading scorer and 2011 CONMEBOL America Cup champion, «El Pistolero» Luis Suárez turns 36.

South American debut

He made his professional debut for Nacional de Montevideo at the age of 18, no less than in a CONMEBOL Libertadores match, against Junior de Barranquilla, in 2005, a tournament for which he played only 4 games, including his participation the following year. In his first spell at Nacional, he scored 12 goals in 35 games and took 3 titles under his belt.

Conquest of Europe and the MSN

In 2006 he arrived in the old continent to play for FC Groningen in the Netherlands, where he scored 15 goals in 37 games over the course of a season. His great performances earned him a transfer to Ajax Amsterdam the following year, where by 2009 he had become team captain and one of the best strikers ever to defend the club. He scored 111 goals and made 69 assists in 159 appearances for Ajax, lifting the Eredivisie and Dutch Cup as captain and top scorer.

Suárez landed in the Premier League in 2011 to join Liverpool and soon became one of the most important figures at Anfield, winning the League Cup in the 11/12 season. He won the Golden Boot as Premier League’s top scorer in the 13/14 season with 31 goals and played a total of 133 games for the English club, with 82 goals and 46 assists.

In 2014 he arrived at Barcelona to play alongside Lionel Messi and Neymar, making up one of the most talented offensive trios ever to be seen. In their first season together, they scored a total of 122 goals and took Barcelona to the highest spot in European football by winning the UEFA Champions League. In a great moment for him and the team, Suárez also won 4 Spanish leagues, 4 Copas del Rey, 2 Spanish Super Cups and a Club World Cup. He played 283 games, scored 198 goals and made 113 assists, in addition to being top scorer of the Spanish League in the 15/16 season, with 40 goals.

After Barcelona, Suárez played two seasons for Atlético de Madrid, appearing in 83 matches, with 34 goals and 16 assists. His great performance helped «Los Colchoneros» become La Liga champions in 20/21, with Luis as the leading scorer and highlight of the team.

La Celeste

Luis Suárez made his debut for the Uruguay national team in 2007, at the age of 18, in a friendly match against Colombia. He scored his first goal against Bolivia in a South American qualifier for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. He appeared in four World Cups for La Celeste and scored 12 goals in the competition.

Suárez also participated in four editions of the CONMEBOL America Cup and became champion in Argentina 2011, when he scored three goals against Peru – one in the group stage and two in the semifinals – and one more in the final against Paraguay.

He is the Uruguayan national team’s all-time leading scorer, with 68 goals in 137 games.

The return to South America

In 2022 he returned to play for six months at Nacional de Montevideo, the club where it all started 17 years before. He played the CONMEBOL Sudamericana and won the Clausura Tournament and the Uruguayan Championship once again, scoring 8 goals in 14 matches.

In 2023, Suárez’s talent will remain in South American football, but now facing a new challenge, playing Brazil’s Serie A with Grêmio de Porto Alegre.