Luis Suarez has revealed he was inspired to move to the Premier League and join Liverpool five years ago by the performances of Carlos Tevez.
Liverpool signed Suarez from Ajax for £22.7million in January 2011, and the forward went on to become a star at Anfield, before joining Barcelona three years later.
And the 29-year-old says Tevez, who scored 84 goals in the Premier League for West Ham, Manchester United and Manchester City, proved that he would be able to cope with the physicality of English football.
“When I was playing at Ajax, it was Carlitos Tevez who inspired me to try to play in the Premier League,” he told ESPN.
“I would watch him and I would think, ‘If Carlitos can do that, why can’t I? He is tiny against all those defenders.'”
Since moving to Barcelona, Suarez has scored 81 goals in all competitions and is currently on the brink of beating Cristiano Ronaldo to the Pichichi Trophy, awarded to the top scorer in La Liga at the end of every season.
The Uruguay international is currently four goals ahead of the Real Madrid star with one match remaining of the current campaign, and heaped praise on his Barcelona team-mates for his form.
“The entire team deserves the credit for my streak,” he said. “Now my team-mates look for me because they know I am in the running.
“Leo [Messi] and Ney[mar] give me the penalty kicks. That shows that the team sees what I am capable of over these last few games and they want me to score.”
