Luis Suárez

Youth

Suárez lived his early years at the Cerro neighbourhood in Salto, where he played youth football at Sportivo Artigas. At age seven, he moved with his family (parents and six brothers) to Montevideo, where he played youth football at Urreta. When he was a child, a car ran over his foot, breaking the fifth metatarsal bone. In spite of the injuries, he continued to play.

Nacional

Suárez joined local side Nacional's youth team at age 14. At age 16, Suárez headbutted a referee after showing his discontent following a red card, although a sports editor claimed he "accidentally fell into the referee". One night, he was caught drinking and partying, prompting his coach to threaten he would never play unless he started playing football more seriously. In May 2005, at age 18, Suárez made his first-team debut against Atlético Junior in the Copa Libertadores. He scored his first goal in September 2005 and helped Nacional win the 2005–06 Uruguayan league with 10 goals in 27 matches. Suárez was found by a group of scouts from the Dutch club Groningen when they were in Uruguay to scout another player. As they watched, he won and converted a penalty and scored a "wonder goal" against Defensor. After watching only that match, the scouts approached Suárez and said they wanted to buy him, and after the season, Groningen paid Nacional €800,000 for him. Suárez was thrilled to go to Europe because his then girlfriend, and now wife, Sofía Balbi, had…

Suárez was invited to play for Uruguay in the qualifying rounds for the 2007 U-20 World Cup, but his club, Groningen, did not release him to play. He did play in the tournament finals, and he scored two goals in four appearances. His goals came in a group stage draw against Spain and in the Round of 16 against the United States, but the U.S. won 2–1 and Uruguay was eliminated from the tournament. Suárez made his senior debut for Uruguay on 8 February 2007 in a 3–1 win against Colombia. He was sent off in the 85th minute after receiving a second yellow card for dissent. Suárez played in 19 of 20 games in 2010 World Cup qualifying and the inter-confederation play-offs and scored five goals.

2010 FIFA World Cup

In June 2010, Óscar Tabárez named Suárez to Uruguay's 23-man World Cup squad. Uruguay began the tournament with a 0–0 draw against France. In the second match, a 3–0 win over South Africa, Suárez drew a penalty and assisted Álvaro Pereira's stoppage time goal. In the final match of the group stage, he headed in a goal off a pass from Edinson Cavani and was named Man of the Match in a 1–0 win over Mexico. Uruguay won Group A and advanced to the knockout stage. During the round of 16 against South Korea, Suárez scored both goals in a 2–1 win. His second broke a tie in the 80th minute when he dribbled around a defender and curled a "spectacular shot" in off the far post; Suárez was again named Man of the Match. This win put Uruguay through to the quarter-finals…

Suárez creates goal scoring chances with his powerful shot, and has "remarkable technical ability" according to his FIFA profile. Known for his direct running at players, Suárez has a particular penchant for nutmegging opponents (putting the ball through their legs). Liverpool fans (accompanied with a banner) used to say he was so good, "he could nutmeg a mermaid". Considered at his peak to be one of the best strikers in the world, Suárez is a prolific goalscorer, having the rare distinction of being the leading scorer in three top-flight European leagues, a feat only matched by Ruud van Nistelrooy and Cristiano Ronaldo. An accurate finisher with either foot, despite being naturally right-footed, he is capable of scoring from both inside and outside the penalty area. Harry Redknapp said that Suárez could play anywhere – as the target man or behind as a second striker. Uruguay head coach Óscar Tabárez called Suárez "a great forward, an elite player among forwards in the world", and Liverpool coach Kenny Dalglish said, "he's intelligent, he's had a fantastic education at Ajax". Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge said his abilities allow him to get into a position to score and evade defenders. Meanwhile, Thierry Henry called Suárez the best striker in the world, stating, "He has everything. He's in your face, he's arrogant- in a good way, he can volley it, he can score headers. He has vicious side to his game and I will not call it cheating. He knows how to score…

Early life and Deportivo La Coruña

Luis Suárez Miramontes was born on 2 May 1935, in A Coruña, Galicia; the last of three brothers, he was raised in the barrio of Monte Alto, where his family owned a butcher shop. He started playing football at Perseverancia, a local team administered by the Santo Tomás parish; in 1949, aged 14, he joined Deportivo La Coruña, following a successful trial he had attended after reading an advertisement left on La Voz de Galicia by manager Alejandro Scopelli, who was helping the club establish a youth academy. After coming through the club's youth ranks and playing for their reserve team, Deportivo Fabril, Suárez was promoted to the first team during the 1953–54 season, as part of a squad that was managed by Carlos Iturraspe, and included players such as Pahiño and Arsenio Iglesias. On 6 December 1953, he made his senior debut for Deportivo, starting in a 6–1 league defeat to Barcelona at the Camp de Les Corts. Throughout the rest of the campaign, he established himself as a regular starter for the Galician club, attracting interest by both Real Madrid and Barcelona. He played 17 games and scored three goals for Deportivo.

Barcelona

In March 1954, Suárez joined fellow La Liga side Barcelona, together with team-mate Dagoberto Moll, for a reported total fee of 600,000 pesetas. The two players were officially registered by the Catalan club at the end of 1953–54 league season, and as such deemed eligible to play in the Copa del…

Suárez won 32 caps for the Spain senior national team, having made his debut on 30 January 1957 in a 5–1 victory over the Netherlands, and represented Spain at both the 1962 and 1966 FIFA World Cups. He was part of the Spanish side that won the 1964 European Championship. He played his final game for Spain in 1972, at almost 37 years of age, in a draw against Greece.

Suárez managed his former team Inter Milan on three occasions: during the 1974–75 season as a head coach, and then on a caretaker basis during the 1991–92 and 1995–96 campaigns. In 1986, he led the Spain under-21 national team to a European Under-21 Championship title; in 1990, he was the manager of the Spanish senior national team at the 1990 World Cup, where they got eliminated in the round of 16.

Early career

Born in Santa Marta, Suárez made his senior debut with Leones on 5 October 2015, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 1–3 Categoría Primera B away loss against América de Cali. The following 1 March, after eight first-team appearances, he was loaned to Granada CF until 2017 with a buyout clause, and was assigned to the reserves in Segunda División B. On 17 July 2017, after having his federative rights assigned to Watford, Suárez was loaned to Real Valladolid B in the third division for a year. The following 9 July, after scoring 11 goals, he joined Segunda División side Gimnàstic de Tarragona also in a temporary deal. Suárez made his professional debut on 20 August 2018, replacing Tete Morente late into a 1–1 home draw against Tenerife. He scored his first goal on 7 October, netting the equalizer in a 1–1 draw at Cádiz. On 21 June 2019, Suárez was loaned to Real Zaragoza, still in the Spanish second division. He ended the regular season with 19 goals, being the team's top goalscorer, but was not allowed to play in the play-offs as his loan ended.

Granada

Suárez signed for Granada CF on a 5-year contract ahead of the 2020–21 La Liga season, making his first sustained appearances in Spanish top‑flight and European competition.

2020–21 season

He scored in Granada's 2–1 victory against Omonia Nicosia in the UEFA Europa League group stage, giving Granada the lead early in the match at the Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes on 26 November…

On 12 November 2020, Suárez debuted for the Colombian senior team against Uruguay. Portuguese football manager Carlos Queiroz was the national coach of Colombia when Suárez was named to represent the national team and accepted the invitation, although he was also becoming eligible to represent the Spain national football team as well. On 9 September 2025 against Venezuela he scored four goals (42', 50', 59', 67') in a World Cup Qualifier in Estadio Monumental de Maturín in the city of Maturín, Monagas in Venezuela. On 25 May 2026, he was named in head coach Néstor Lorenzo's final 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He made his FIFA World Cup debut as a starter on 17 June in a 3–1 victory over Uzbekistan.

Known for his explosive pace, direct attacking style and powerful finishing, Suárez operates primarily as a center-forward but can shift to wide positions, especially on the left, where he cuts in using his dominant right foot. These characteristics and player traits are not detrimental to make him being regarded as a player with the ability to score goals with his strong left foot as well. His game relies on rapid acceleration, strong physical presence, and clever movement inside the box. Suárez excels in counterattacks and transitional phases, making him a constant threat when his team regains possession. With high intensity on and off the ball, he contributes not only with goals but also with assists and pressing duties.

Suárez was born in Salto, Uruguay to Sandra Diaz and Rodolfo Suárez, the fourth of seven boys. His oldest brother, Paolo Suárez, is a Uruguayan-Salvadoran retired professional footballer, who last played for Isidro Metapán in El Salvador. Suárez moved with his family to Montevideo when he was seven, and his parents separated when he was nine. In Montevideo, he developed his football skills on the streets, while also taking up work as a street sweeper at the age of 15. In 1998, aged 11 he appeared as a contestant on children's game show Aventujuegos, with his team winning: his episode was brought up in a 2011 episode of chat show Noche de Locura and he was surprised the footage had been kept. The contrast between his life in Europe and the poverty he left behind has been cited as contributing to his periodic aggression on the field, as well as being a possible explanation for the more forgiving attitudes of the Uruguayan public and press towards such cases, compared to Europe. Besides his native tongue, Suárez is able to speak Dutch and English.

Suárez is of mixed race and has a black grandfather. The matter of ethnicity was raised in reporting on the Patrice Evra incident, where use by his grandmother, Lila Piriz, of "mi negrito" as a sobriquet has been offered to explain Suárez's repeated use of "negro" over the two-minute altercation; the FA judged his evidence unreliable, issuing him an eight-match ban. His mother also supported the claim Suárez made that using the word…

Suárez had two older brothers, José (b. 1924) and Agustín (b. 1926), who also played football, having both started their respective careers at Deportivo La Coruña. He married his first wife, Nieves, in 1967; the couple had two children, and they lived in Nervi, a quartiere of Genoa, during the footballer's spell at Sampdoria and for several years following his retirement. His younger son, who had been born with congenital cleft palate, died in 1977, aged seven. Following a divorce, he married his second wife, Valentina (who died in 2020); the couple moved to Milan in 1988, settling in the quartiere of San Siro, close to the eponymous stadium Suárez had played in while at Inter Milan.

Later life and personal achievements

In June 1989, he received the Castelao Medal by the Xunta de Galicia for his notable contributions in the sporting field. Since the early 2000s, he worked as a guest pundit for several sports programmes broadcast on Italian and Spanish television networks. On 20 November 2001, Suárez was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sporting Merit by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport for his sporting merits. In 2008, he received the Golden Foot as a football legend, together with Aldair, Igor Belanov and Zinedine Zidane. In 2014, he started working for Cadena SER's radio programme Carrusel Deportivo, where he primarily served as a commentator and an analyst for Barcelona's matches. In July 2015, as part of the celebrations for the 30th…

Suárez holds Spanish passport in addition to his Colombian citizenship and therefore is a citizen of the European Union. He has a tattoo on his left arm depicting a lion, describing an identification with the animal "because of its personality and character, and the tenacity with which it protects its pack". Luis Suárez faced a domestic violence accusation in court. The Colombian forward was detained on December 11, 2024, after his ex-wife filed a complaint for physical and psychological abuse. The alleged victim highlighted several episodes of physical, psychological, and social violence that reportedly occurred in Granada and Marseille between 2020 and 2023, accusations that the player always denied. Suárez's request to visit their shared son, after the couple had been separated for about a year, triggered the complaint of his ex-wife. The case went to the domestic violence court in Granada where an agreement was ultimately reached between the parties.