Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed that his club had a contract agreement with Luis Suarez, but were denied the chance to sign the Uruguayan by Liverpool, who decided to sell to Barcelona a year later.
The Gunners tabled a bid of £40m and one pound for the player after being wrongly advised that the Uruguayan had a clause in his contract with the Reds.
Wenger revealed that he was convinced at that time about Suarez's intention to join the Gunners, but was denied the chance as Liverpool were reluctant to sell him to rivals.
Brendan Rodgers managed to convince the star striker to stay on for one more year by improving his contract, while he was then allowed to sign for Barcelona after the 2014 World Cup.
"He was very close", Wenger told beIN Sports.
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"We had an agreement with the player. We had been wrongly advised that he had a clause, with a minimal clause, but we had an agreement with the player. You can ask him.
"I'm convinced he wanted to join us and then they sold him. They kept him one more year, improved his contract and promised to sell him the year later to a club abroad."
Suarez joined Barcelona from Liverpool in 2014 and has since continued with his form, scoring an impressive 113 goals in 136 appearances for the Catalan giants and has set up 65 more goals for his team-mates.
