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There has been a lot of talk about "the best" around the Liverpool camp this week: best friends forever, Kolo's best player, England's best player in the north west, and, uh, Brendan Rodgers being "blessed", which rhymes with best. Not to be outdone, Steven Gerrard threw his hat into the ring on another "best" discussion: whether or not Luis Suarez is the best player he's ever played with.
“Yes. Simple. He’s out on his own,” the captain confirmed. “The only player who comes close to producing what Luis produced in a red shirt is Fernando Torres, but Luis just pipped him for me.”
This isn't the first time Gerrard has said this about Suarez, but in light of Suarez waxing lyrical about how it was the captain who convinced him to stay this summer, it's not surprising to hear him repeat the sentiment again. It didn't take long for rumours of a January departure for Suarez to heat up after the summer transfer window closed, but Gerrard is convinced that the Uruguayan isn't going anywhere in the next few months.
“I don’t feel like that about January… January will be different because I think Luis is committed,” he continued. “I think he is happy. I think he is pleased with the decision he has made to stay around. He is in good form. The team are playing well so I think January won’t be a problem.
“But come the summer, I think depending how Liverpool have done will determine what goes through Luis’ mind. Luis is the key. His goals, his performance and his form will be the key whether we finish in the top four or not.”
Suarez's teammates who were beaten only once during the striker's self-induced absence at the start of the season might have a few thoughts about that, but ultimately Gerrard is probably more right than he is wrong that Suarez's contributions on the pitch could be the tipping point that sees Liverpool back in Champions League next season. After all, nobody does it better, although sometimes we wish someone could.