Luis Suarez Prevented Karim Benzema’s Move to Arsenal in 2014: Surprising Revelation

Recently, in an interview, Luis Suarez revealed that he was the reason Arsenal failed to sign Karim Benzema in the summer of 2014.

The Uruguayan player recounted that he intended to move to the North London club in 2013 when the Gunners made an offer worth £40,000,001. However, The Kop outrightly rejected that offer, and the Uruguayan player stayed at Anfield for another year.

Notably, in his final year in England, Suarez scored a total of 31 goals for the Reds. However, for Liverpool, it was still one of the most regrettable seasons as they finished second following the infamous slip by captain Steven Gerrard. Suarez then planned to move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2014. It was reported that the Spanish club intended to sell Benzema to Arsenal to make room for the forward born in 1987.

However, neither of the two deals materialized.

Luis Suarez Prevented Karim Benzema’s Move to Arsenal: How?

At the 2014 World Cup, Uruguay was eliminated by Colombia in the round of 16. However, the focal point of the uproar occurred in the group stage and was directly related to Suarez. Specifically, the striker bit into the shoulder of Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini. Subsequently, he was banned from football activities for 4 months and suspended from playing for Uruguay for 9 matches.

Luis Suarez shared that the scandal directly made Real Madrid less keen on signing him. Barcelona then stepped in and won the deal. Consequently, Karim Benzema’s move to Arsenal collapsed as well. Instead, the Gunners signed Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona and Danny Welbeck from Manchester United.

The striker recalled: “Before the 2014 World Cup, Real Madrid wanted to sign me, and negotiations at that time were smooth. Additionally, they also intended to sell Benzema to Arsenal, and everything was almost finalized.

However, when the World Cup began, Barcelona got involved, and I preferred them. After the scandal, Real Madrid lost interest significantly, while Barcelona became even more interested despite my suspension. I’m always grateful to the club for that. I chose Barcelona also because playing here was my dream.”