The truth about Luis Suarez, by those who know him best

Interviews: Martin Mazur, Andy Mitten, Andrew Murray.

First meetings

Paolo Suarez I’m six years older than Luis, and when I was playing street football with my friends, he wanted to play, too, without caring about being younger. To begin with, my friends would go easy on him, since he was so young, but as soon as he’d started dribbling past everyone, they weren’t so nice!

Sofia Balbi The truth is, his personality hasn’t changed since the first time I met him when I was 12 and he was 15. The only difference is that he’s now on the TV! He’s exactly the same. Perhaps he’s now a little bit more shy than before, but really he’s not changed. It’s for this reason that I love him.

Diego Forlan I first played against him in a warm-up game when he was in Uruguay's under-20s as they prepared for their World Cup in Canada. I could see his talent, he was outstanding, but then I didn't properly speak to him until he made his full Uruguay debut.

Pere Guardiola I’ve been working with Luis since he was at Ajax, so that’s just over four-and-a-half years. Ultimately, our relationship is one of friendship. We talk daily. Apart from representing him in negotiations, we deal with his image, sponsorships and any interviews. As close as possible, it’s friendship, to give him the best we can.

SB Those early days and months back in Uruguay were very special. We spent some wonderful moments together when you know that this person is right for you. We used to go to the cinema or go to concerts when we could afford it. I love watching films with him and we’ve started going to the cinema now in Barcelona. Luis doesn’t really like watching a film more than once, so it’s difficult to say what our favourite would be!

PS We broke the bunk beds where we all slept a couple of times [while attempting spectacular bicycle kicks], but other than that, we always behaved very nicely.

DF From very early in his time in the national team he would come to my room to talk about everything. That never changed; we're close friends. He always asked for advice and I was happy to tell him what I knew. He was a little shy as players are when they join a new team, but I could see that he was a nice guy. When I first started speaking to him I could see that he was polite, respectful and keen to learn.

PS We’re both big fans of Nacional, and it was a dream come true to see him play and win the championship with them. My dad and most of my brothers and sisters – we are seven in total – are Nacional fans; only my mom and one brother, Maxi, support Peñarol.

Balbi family’s emigration to Barcelona

SB This was such a difficult time for me and Luis. We honestly thought we wouldn’t see each other again. My family arrived in Barcelona in October 2003 and in the December he came out to see me, which was amazing. He told me he couldn’t survive without me. It was clear to both of us that we would carry on our relationship, despite the long distance. He’s always said that the reason he left Nacional for Groningen in was to be closer to me! [Laughs] As soon as he moved to Holland, that was it, I went with him. It didn’t take long to convince my family to let me go with him because we’d been apart for two years. My mum was back in Uruguay for a little while, and Luis went to see her. She understood.

Actually, knowing Luis, he probably just told her and didn’t even ask! “This is what’s going to happen, and that’s it.” We’ve been inseparable ever since.

Nearly joining Arsenal

PG This was my most uncomfortable time with Luis. Especially for me and our relationship. [FFT: Because of the confusion over the precise detail of his contract’s buyout clause?] Because of the confusion, because of what we’d already agreed with the club, because situations change and force you to do things that make you uncomfortable. It was complicated, and Luis had to train separately from the team. Everything was played out in the press.

Suarez’s perception in Britain

DF No, the way he’s perceived in Britain isn’t fair, he's not a cheat. Football is tough. It's not a sport for men who want to wear white gloves. It's tough, passionate and competitive. It helps that Luis is tough too.

PG I think that, to some extent, everything has been exaggerated. He’s done both good and bad things, but in England people have tried to look for the smallest detail for the counterpoint or alternative argument to a situation or story. Not many English journalists ever met him. He didn’t necessarily express himself easily in English, so being able to talk about general life was always difficult. When Luis is in an arena where he can express himself well, in his own language, he doesn’t have such problems to convey himself.

DF Against Ghana in the 2010 World Cup, he handballed and he was punished because it was a penalty and he was sent off. He also had to miss the next game against the Netherlands.

Remember the Ghana player also had the opportunity to score, but he missed. They are the rules of football, as interpreted correctly by the referee in that game. Both teams had the opportunity to win in the penalty shootout. We held our nerve and deserved to win.

2013/14 Liverpool season

DF I spoke to him at various points of last season. He loved playing at Liverpool, the fans and England.

PG I’ve had so many highlights with Luis. Quite apart from all his goals, and his performances in general on the pitch, his move to Liverpool from Ajax, basically all of last season will always stay with me. Winning the individual prizes, too. That stands out.

DF He was very disappointed that Liverpool didn't win the league and I don't blame him. He was the best player in England last season and deserved something. But in the end, with everything that happened, I think it was probably good for everyone that he made a change.

The 2014 World Cup

PG To be honest, last summer was as difficult to deal with as the previous one and the Arsenal deal that never happened. Dealing with the suspension from the Giorgio Chiellini bite with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the hearing and our appeal, was very hard.

DF We didn't know that he had bitten Chiellini. It was only afterwards and it was a bit of a shock. There had been incidents with Luis before and we knew the reaction after them, so we expected more of the same. We knew that wouldn't be good for Uruguay in the rest of the tournament and beyond.

SB In Uruguay, the level of support that Luis receives is massive, maybe not from everyone, but it’s huge. A lot of people back him, whatever he does. It’s a wonderful thing to experience that level of support.

DF People back in Uruguay were outraged because the punishment was too high. I agreed with them; it was. People make mistakes in life and they learn from them. I know that Luis recognises that he made a mistake, he apologised and will learn from that. Everybody in the country loves him.

And that's a nice feeling for any one person to have in any country. There were times when he needed that support. There's not many of us, we need to stick together.

PG Over the summer, there was one betting company, who came up with the most bizarre offer I think I’ve ever received for a player. You can imagine the sort of thing they were asking about [mimes a bite]. Creative people are very... Er, creative! [Laughs]

DF Luis did wrong and we didn't need to tell him that, but from the moment he got the punished everybody was behind him. He went from being to villain to someone we felt we should defend. Not a hero, but someone who needed support. The way he was forced to leave the team hotel in Brazil was wrong.

SB It was difficult to deal with, but Luis and I had experienced it before in Uruguay. What was it like? It was, it’s difficult to explain, maybe stronger is the right word? I don’t want to say worse, that makes it sound like Luis doesn’t have people’s support back home, but the amount of attention on us was incredible.

SB We soon came back to Barcelona, because it’s our refuge. The press attention was huge. We were staying in my parents’ house and they really weren’t used to so many people being around, all of the time. By the time Luis was talking to Barcelona, he was sneaking out of the house because there so many people. It was crazy! You couldn’t move outside the house. Some days we’d go to my sister’s house, just to give my parents a break from all the journalists and photographers! They couldn’t leave their own house.

Two Luis Suarez(es)

DF You want me to describe his character? On or off the field? Because there's a big difference. He's a fighter on the pitch, someone who wants to win all the time. Off it he's a quiet family man.

PG Luis is a very humble, genuine guy. He’s funny, which hasn’t always come across, He’s clever too. This is Luis. On the pitch, he’s a winner. He never gives up. Gives everything for his team. Look, the vast majority of footballers are one thing on the pitch and something totally different off it.

SB The way Luis plays football, and the way he is in my house, is totally different. He’s the complete opposite. Everything he does at football isn’t on in my house. No chance. My house is a place for calm, for the children.

PS Luis is a quiet guy, but when he enters the pitch, he’s different. I’ve never met someone so eager to win in any situation, no matter if it’s a training session or a friendly game, the pre-season or post-season. He’s always focused on scoring and winning.

PG Do the controversies come from an insatiable desire to win? Look, obviously, he wants to win, but whether these things happen because he wants it too much, I don’t know. I’m convinced that if he were conscious about what he was about to do in those moments, like Chiellini or Ivanovic, then he wouldn’t do it. Of course not. Luis doesn’t want to be four months without playing football, or be on the receiving end of a massive fine, or have the entire press pack criticise everything he does. No-one would want that.

SB When it comes to home, it’s time to forget about football because it can hangover. After he scored four goals for Liverpool against Norwich in December 2013, he said: “Aren’t you going to congratulate me?!” I’d already said “well done” when he came off the pitch!

Joining Barcelona

PG Back in Uruguay, Luis had the dream to play for a big European team and he certainly did that at Liverpool, in a league as competitive as the Premier League. But Barcelona is always something else; something special. It’s a way of culminating, to some extent, his career and journey.

Speaking honestly, it’s the club he loves. The possibility of playing for a club like this comes around very rarely and you have to take advantage of it.

PS We are all living a dream with Luis. As a brother, and as a Uruguayan, I’m so proud of him. To realise that he’s the national team’s top scorer in history, after so many legends that have played in the light-blue shirt, is really too much. And the best part is that there’s more to come, he’s still young and ambitious.

SB I still can’t believe all this has happened. It’s almost as if I’m watching him play for the first time, because of the nerves I get, knowing how much it means to him. I’m still processing it all, really. Maybe later in the season, hopefully with a trophy to hold, that’ll change.

DF It’s always been his dream to play for Barcelona. His wife's family have lived there for a long time so he has been a regular visitor. There's a huge football club there too and I think he's liked the idea of playing at Barça for a while. Many players do, but he has more reasons than most.

SB Luis has always wanted to play here. It’s not something that we ever really spoke about when we were in Uruguay because it seemed such a faraway dream that he would even play football professionally. It’s always been his dream to play for Barcelona, probably like any little boy growing up.

PG These sorts of transfers are a process. It doesn’t all begin on one day. In Luis’ case, you’re looking at three months’ work. There was contact before the World Cup. Quite a while before. I have a relationship with a lot of clubs, but this was different. From the time we first spoke to the paperwork being signed, there’s a long road to go. A lot of obstacles.

SB This is our second home. Our daughter Delfina was born here, we have the majority of our family around us. We love the culture, the food and everything that we want is here.

DF It was difficult for him at the beginning, because of the ban. Not being able to play and going through various appeals wasn't easy, but now he's playing and much happier.

He’s surrounded by some of the best players in the world at Barça. No footballer objects to playing with world-class players, even if that means no longer being his team’s biggest star.

SB I’ll never forget his first Barcelona goal away at APOEL in the Champions League. I didn’t travel to Cyprus, but I saw it on the TV. Well, more or less, I saw it, at least.

My son Benjamin had a bit of an accident, so I had to leave the house with him for a bit. He’d hit his head on something, the poor thing. Trust me, I saw Luis’ goal, though. I felt so proud.

Describe Luis in three words...

SB [Pauses] Oof, I don’t think I can do that!

PG Being his agent, in three words? Honoured, proud and challenging. This level and type of players require a permanent presence and challenge to be with them all the time.

DF Determined. Fighter (but in a good sense on the field). Family man. That's four, I know.

Luis Suarez wears the Adidas adizero f50. To buy his shiny new boots go to adidas.com/football or join the conversation on Twitter @adidasfootball.

This feature originally appeared in the April 2015 issue of FourFourTwo. Subscribe!