Top 5 January 2011 Transfers: Where Are They Now?

Name: Luis Suarez
Transfer: Ajax to Liverpool
Fee: £23.5 million

Suarez was sensational but controversial at Liverpool

Then: Liverpool went absolutely barmy on the last day of the January transfer window in 2011. Hours before the £35 million transfer of Andy Carroll, the Merseyside club took a punt on a controversial, raw and yet prolific forward from Ajax. Uruguayan hotshot, Luis Suarez, was one of the most sought after strikers in world football. In 110 games for Ajax, he had scored a remarkable total of 81 goals. However, months earlier, Suarez had been suspended after biting an opponent on the shoulder during a league game. He had also infamously denied a certain goal with his hand during a crucial World Cup 2010 quarter-final against Ghana. A sign of things to come?…

Now: Suarez is regarded as one of the best strikers in the world. Alongside Messi and Neymar, he has formed one of the most prolific triumvirates in footballing history. However, during his early months with Liverpool, Suarez looked far from the finished article. During a largely disappointing opening spell, he managed only four goals in 13 appearances. The jury was out. Then, in the following season, he was found guilty of racial abuse during a game against Manchester United. There seemed to be no way back for the shamed Uruguay star. However, his recovery was quite remarkable. Over the next two seasons, despite a second biting ban, Suarez scored 61 goals for Liverpool. In the 2013/14 campiagn, in particular, his goals helped the club challenge for the Premier League title, ultimately falling short on the last day of the season, but he was named as the PFA Player of the Year for his exploits. In July 2014, following a third biting incident at the World Cup, Suarez was signed by Barcelona for a fee of £75 million. In his first season at the Camp Nou he won La Liga, Spanish Cup and Champions League.

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