Luis Suarez has played down suggestions that he has a problem with Barcelona teammate Gerard Deulofeu.
Suarez has struggled for form this season, having found the net on just three occasions in La Liga and going goalless since his late equaliser against Atletico Madrid almost a month ago.
The forward’s typically clinical finishing has not shown itself since Ernesto Valverde took over at the Camp Nou in the summer and, at stages, Suarez has taken his frustrations out on his teammates.
More than once in games, Suarez has been captured giving Gerard Deulofeu an earful and that’s not gone unnoticed by the Spanish media.
During an interview with Sport this week, the Uruguay international was asked to explain why he’s had a go at Deulofeu and he’s downplayed those instances.
“He is a player with experience,” Suarez said of the former Everton winger. “He has played in big leagues and what he has to do is listen to advice, not just from forwards, but from the manager.
“He is doing that and he’s learning. He’s not the only player I’ve given a ticking-off to. We all do it. People tell me off, too!”
In the previous two seasons, Suarez scored 96 goals in 104 games for Barcelona but the 30-year-old has some ways to go if he is to recapture his near goal-a-game average of campaigns past.
And while he acknowledges the fact that he will have to put his recent shortcomings in front of goal behind him sooner rather than later, Suarez resorted to the line of every struggling forward by insisting that he’s happy as long as the team is winning.
“I am most critical of myself,” Suarez said. “There have been games when I’ve helped the team and been happy, despite not scoring.
“In other games, IÂ have ended them badly because I did everything possible to score and was not able to. It’s not about runs, there are moments when you do everything and the ball doesn’t want to go in. Sometimes you hit it wrong and it goes on. They’re situations strikers are used to and must live with.
“I know I am obliged to score because it’s my job but also that the team’s doing well and hasn’t needed my goals.”
