Gracias! Luis Suarez worships Steven Gerrard for diverting him from an Arsenal move

Gerrard and Suarez both helped Liverpool earn a Champions league qualification spot last season

Luis Suarez has praised his former captain at Liverpool, Steven Gerrard for talking him out of joining Arsenal last year.

The Uruguayan striker was on the verge of a £40million switch from Anfield to north London, but instead stayed at Liverpool and led them to the brink of the Barclays Premier League title.

Suarez scored 31 goals during Liverpool's campaign and was crowned PFA Player of the Year before joining Barcelona in a £75m deal this summer.

In his new book Luis Suarez, My Story: Crossing the Line, the 27-year-old said: 'It would have been a big error that I would have made had it not been for Steven Gerrard.

'We spoke about this when I went to Melwood to pick up my things at the end of the summer and he said: "You did the right thing, you waited until the best moment."

'He had told me to play well for Liverpool, give it another year and it will be Bayern Munich, Real Madrid or Barcelona coming for you and then you can go where you want, because you have the quality to play at any of those three clubs.'

Suarez has since joined Barcelona in the summer after a sensational season with Liverpool

Before the start of the season, Gerrard said: ‘Last summer, when Luis was out in the cold and training on his own, I told him "Don’t go to Arsenal".

‘With all due respect to them, I told him he was too good for Arsenal.

‘Luis’ dream, from the first day he came to us, was to play for Real Madrid or Barcelona.

‘I said “If you score 30 goals for us and win the PFA Player of the Year, the Footballer of the Year” - I knew he was going to win them – “they will come back for you”.’