It’s incredible that in this day of age contracts continue to be such a disputed piece of legal material, with Liverpool, Luis Suarez and his agents debating as to the meaning of the alleged £40 million release clause in the Uruguayan striker’s contract.
So what is the debate exactly? According to The Times, the long term deal signed by Suarez last summer (keeping him at the club until 2018), there’s a certain debatable release clause in his deal, only the interpretation can be taken to different directions.
Liverpool are claiming that what the clause actually means is that they must consider any offer of £40 million or more, but are not obliged to automatically accept. What is considering? Think really hard, or notify the players and his reps. Hard to say. The bottom line is that Liverpool don’t have to sell him no matter the price, according to the club.
But according to Suarez’ agent, Pere Guardiola, believes that the clause means that any offer of that sum means Liverpool are forced to sell the player, and it’s up to Suarez to come to a personal agreement with the purchasing club.
Confused? Everyone seems to be. About who wants Suarez, about what Suarez himself wants, and obviously about where he’s going to be next season. The worst case scenario for Liverpool isn’t Suarez leaving, but for him to leave after participating in training for almost a month and leaving just as the season begins.
If they feel there’s no chance in keeping him and that one big offer they’ve been waiting for is coming, they should accept, and now, before it’s too late. Too late to add another forward to the club (although they’ve already signed Luis Alberto and Iago Aspas this summer to Daniel Sturridge), and too late to make a rational decision about the player they sign to replace Suarez, if they actually add one more player.
Brendan Rodgers insists that they’re still in the market for more players, with a centre back, a position Liverpool need to fill more urgently than any other. Selling Suarez should help them quite significantly, but unless they make a decision about his future soon, any signing they make in August might be a bit rushed and with a bigger potential of blowing up in their face.