- Suarez looked set to reunite with good friend Messi at Inter Miami this summer
- Gremio were in talks with the MLS club over a transfer but they broke down
- The 36-year-old’s contract at the Brazilian club ends in December this year
Luis Suarez has revealed that he and Lionel Messi still ‘dream of retiring together’, despite talks between his current club Gremio and Messi’s Inter Miami breaking down.
The Uruguayan joined the Brazilian club in January on a two-year deal, but they have already agreed to bring forward the end of his contract to later in the year.
Inter Miami were hoping to reunite Suarez with his former Barcelona team-mates Messi and Sergio Busquets but transfer discussions have since fallen apart. Suarez has not spoken with the Floridian club.
‘With Messi, we dream of retiring together’, he told Uruguayan TV show Punto Penal.
‘It was something that we always planned when we were at Barcelona. And from one year to the next I went to Atletico and he went to PSG. We dreamed of it and we talked about it that after Barcelona we would go to the United States and nothing happened at the time.
Luis Suarez has said that he and former Barcelona pal Lionel Messi ‘dream of retiring together’
Talks between Suarez’s current club Gremio and Messi’s Inter Miami have broken down
‘Now he made the decision to go there and from what you can see, he looks happy and we hope that at some point that possibility will occur.’
The two forwards, both standard-bearers for their nations and clubs over the years, enjoy a brotherly bond and have holidayed together before.
On the pitch, they won the Champions League and four LaLiga titles with Barcelona, while off it they were also great friends.
However, Inter Miami manager Tata Martino has admitted the situation is out of his side’s hands. ‘After all is said and done there are some obstacles with regard to his situation with Gremio and this means that it is not all Inter Miami’s decision,’ he said.
Suarez, now 36, will be hoping for a move as quickly as is convenient due to persistent knee troubles. Battling osteoarthritis in his right knee, which has enforced daily injections and special treatments, it is unknown how long the Liverpool legend has left in professional football.
He confirmed that he has not spoken with Gremio. ‘I’m well aware that Inter Miami spoke with Gremio and that the club told them that I have a contract. I can say that [Inter Miami] has not spoken to me.’
Ex-Barca team-mate Sergio Busquets is also playing with Messi for Inter Miami in the MLS
Inter Miami boss Tata Martino admitted that there are ‘obstacles’ regarding any pursuit
Elsewhere, he added: ‘I feel that next year I will not be able to perform due to my fitness and the high demands of the Brazilian championship, which is why the club and I have spoken about ending my contract [with Gremio] a year early.
‘That would be in December. The club agreed and I’m grateful to them. I don’t know if I’ll continue to play somewhere else because I have a chronic issue with my knee that you all know about. I’d ask Gremio supporters to value the fact that they have a 36-year-old player who always plays despite having a lot of pain in his knee. That’s all I ask. ‘
His seniority and injury issues have not stopped him scoring goals. In July 2022, he joined boyhood club Nacional, where he scored eight times in 16 games. For Gremio, he has bagged 16 in 32.
