Luis Suarez offers “mental strength” advice for Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez

Luis Suarez was no stranger to a ban during his career and he has now offered some advice to Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez, who is currently serving a five-match suspension.

After clashing with fans in the stands after Uruguay’s Copa America semi-final defeat to Colombia in July, Nunez was dealt a five-game ban for international fixtures and a £152,000 fine.

Nunez’s now ex-Uruguay teammate Suarez, who recently retired from international football, had to bounce back from bans on multiple occasions in his career.

Referring to Nunez’s three-Game suspension for a ‘headbutt’, at the start of his Liverpool career in 2022, the Mirror reported Suarez said: “I already spoke with Darwin when he was sanctioned in England.

• READ: Nunez pays tribute to “idol” Suarez after international retirement

“Sometimes people enjoy it more when you are on the ground and fall, but people feel more pain when you get back up and that is what he has to do, get up and continue to show the kind of player he is.

“That is where you see the great players and the mental strength he has to have to show those people that they like to see him on the ground.”

The kind of mentality Suarez referenced is what helped him become arguably one of football’s greatest-ever strikers.

The Uruguayan received an eight-match ban and a £40,000 fine for using racially abusive language towards Man United‘s Patrice Evra in 2011.

Suarez also served three suspensions for biting opponents, firstly for Ajax in 2010, then for Liverpool against Chelsea in 2013, and finally for Uruguay against Italy in 2014.

Nunez wasn’t the only Uruguay player to receive consequences for their scuffles in the Copa America, though he was most heavily punished of the 10 players involved.

Suarez added: “It is not an easy moment that they must be going through, these are complicated moments.

“I have spoken with some of them and unfortunately, they cannot be here, for something so important for me.

“I’ve been with all of them for many years in the national team and I would have liked them to be here on Friday, but that’s Football and they’ve sent me their messages, and they know that it’s a difficult time for me to make that decision.”

While Nunez will be disappointed to be missing five World Cup qualifiers, including a big Game against Luis Diaz‘s Colombia in November, it could actually be a blessing for his Liverpool career.

With Arne Slot needing as much time on the training pitch with Nunez as possible, the No. 9 could be a good option for the Reds if other forwards are fatigued when returning from their international outings.