Since 2008, the two - and pretty much only two - names that have been linked to "Best Player in the Game" conversation have been Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Between them, they have won the last 6 Ballon d’Or awards (Messi 4, Ronaldo 2) and no one has come close to challenging them. Franck Ribery and Andres Iniesta have been the only other players in the running for the Ballon d'Or, but when it came down to it, it was always a two-horse race. But there is one player who we think could be nipping at the heals of the dynamic duo atop the soccer totem pole.
Enter Luis Suarez.
Liverpool Captain Steven Gerrard came out and said that his teammate was pushing Messi and Ronaldo.
"I've run out of words to describe him," Gerrard told reporters. "We're blessed in this country to have some really top forwards but for me, without being biased, he’s the best.”
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The Liverpool Captain said Suarez is intelligent and versatile player that could play not just on any national team, but any club team in the world |
The Liverpool captain may be on to something.
| Player Name | League Apps | Goals | Assists |
| Luis Suarez | 30 | 30 | 12 |
| Christiano Ronaldo | 27 | 28 | 8 |
| Lionel Messi | 27 | 26 | 10 |
| Ziatan Ibrahimovic | 30 | 25 | 11 |
"I've said it many times," continued Gerrard, "I look at Messi and Ronaldo and, yeah, they're world-class players but, outside of that, you have [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic and Luis Suarez, who are pushing those two really close.”
Admittedly, Suarez had a rough start to his tenure in Liverpool. Including being charged for racially abusing Patrice Evra in 2011 and then biting Branislav Ivanovic which resulted in an 10 match suspension.
But this season has been anything but a struggle. The Uruguayan has already broken the club's season scoring record of 28, and has tied Cristiano Ronaldo's Premier League scoring record of 30 with 3 games left. For our money, this performance alone has to put Suarez in the debate as one of the best players in the 2014 campaign.
He also has Liverpool atop the table by five points with three games remaining, and with control of their own destiny, Suarez has the Reds in position to win their first League Championship since the 89-90 season.
"[Gerrard] said I was the best forward he'd ever played with, which given the amazing strikers that he's played with at Liverpool, was amazing for me to hear. I'll never forget that," said Suarez.
Should Suarez lift the trophy at Ainfield come season's end, that alone would have to put his name in the conversation for the Ballon d’Or. Add a good showing in Rio at the World Cup to the resume, and Suarez could be seeing gold in 2014.
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Suarez is in good company with Messi and Ronaldo |
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