Charlie Adam Labels Suarez As One Of The Best Strikers In The World
Reading midfielder Charlie Adam has labeled his former Liverpool team-mate Luis Suarez as one of the best strikers in the world and insists he admires the Uruguayan’s mentality to recover from his ‘biting’ incidents to become one of Barcelona’s lynchpins.
Suarez joined Barcelona in the summer of 2014 after spending three years in the Premier League with Liverpool, where he won personal laurels like the European Golden Shoe, and the Premier League Player of the Season.
The former Ajax man had to wait until October 25 to make his Barcelona debut as he was banned for four months by FIFA for biting Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
The incident against the Italian was the third in his career, having bitten Otman Bakkal while playing for Ajax in 2010 and then Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic in a Premier League match in 2013.
In an interview with Stats Perform, Adam has admitted he is impressed with how Suarez dumped his abhorrent past to form a lethal partnership with Lionel Messi.
"He will have been disappointed at what had happened [his ban for biting], how he got involved in the situation, both situations, and how it occurred," the 34-year-old said.
"But the way he's bounced back from that mental toughness has been incredible. I still say he's one of the best number nines in the world where he could occupy a defence on his own.
"He's hungry to score goals, he's playing for one of the best teams in the world with the greatest player I've ever seen [Lionel Messi]. It's phenomenal to see that he's made that step up.
"It was crucial for him when he left Liverpool to go to Barcelona and everyone thought 'was he the right type of player for Barcelona?' but he's been phenomenal and I was grateful to be able to share the dressing room with him.
The Uruguay international has since won thirteen major trophies with the Catalans since he moved to Spain.
