Suarez disrespected club - Rodgers

Luis Suarez wants to leave Liverpool
8 August 2013

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has accused Luis Suarez of showing "total disrespect of the club" and vowed to take "strong, decisive action" following the Uruguay striker's claims that he was promised a move if the Reds failed to qualify for the Champions League.

Suarez's future has been cast into doubt over the last 36 hours with the former Ajax man threatening to hand in a transfer request and possibly take the club to a tribunal if he is not allowed to leave Anfield.

Speaking after Wednesday night's 4-1 friendly win over Valerenga in Oslo, Rodgers was quoted in several national newspapers as saying: "There were no promises made - categorically none - and no promises broken. The club and his representatives had several conversations and he knew exactly where he was at.

"I will take strong, decisive action. There has been total disrespect of the club - this is a club that is historically one of the biggest in the world and has given him everything; absolutely everything.

"I don't believe there is a clause in his contract that says he can leave for any sort of price."

Suarez insisted in newspaper interviews on Tuesday that he had a clause in his contract whereby he could leave Merseyside if a Champions League club were willing to offer £40million - a sum Arsenal offered plus an extra £1.

But the club maintain the £40million mark was the point at which they had to inform the player of an approach and was the basis for the beginning of negotiations should they wish to sell.

Suarez will reportedly be made to train with the reserves following his outburst.

Asked whether there was any way back for the 26-year-old, Rodgers responded: "We first of all need to assess where (the situation) is. Things have been said that are derogatory against the football club, his team-mates and the supporters.

"There's a few bridges to cross before that (playing for Liverpool) can happen again. It's about respect - that's the only thing we look for. This is one of the most iconic football clubs in the world. You can't disrespect it."

On the prospect of an apology, he added: "That's something I will ensure before anything happens in the future."

Suarez has been a controversial figure since arriving from the Amsterdam ArenA in January 2011, serving a suspension for racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra and, more recently, being banned again for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic.

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