Former Liverpool Midfielder Heaps Praise on Luis Suarez: ‘He was a joke’
At Liverpool, great players are measured by moments that linger, not just medals. Few left a sharper aftertaste than the forward Jonjo Shelvey once labelled, affectionately, as ‘a joke’.
The former Liverpool midfielder, now 33, is plying his trade in the United Arab Emirates with Arabian Falcons, but his Anfield years remain the era fans still prod for stories. Shelvey spent nearly three seasons on Merseyside before departing for Swansea in summer 2013, scoring seven goals in 69 appearances for Liverpool, often deployed as a young, energetic midfield option with a wand of a right foot and a willingness to try the improbable.
His timeline at the club crossed significantly with Luis Suarez, the striker whose 31 goals in 2013/14 delivered the PFA Player of the Year award and an eventual move to Barcelona. Now approaching 39 and playing at Inter Miami, Suarez’s legacy is complicated, brilliant, turbulent, unfiltered. It is also unforgettable.
Shelvey recalls ‘unbelievable’ Suarez at Liverpool
Speaking on the Under The Cosh podcast, Shelvey offered a window into Suarez’s instant impact at Liverpool, particularly on the training ground, where reputations are made and defenders quietly retired by humiliation.
“I loved Suarez. I think he’s a top, top centre-forward. He was so good, unbelievable player. The first day [at training], Carragher has gone in to press him and he’s just megged him and put it in the top bins.
“Normally, these South Americans take a while to adjust to the Premier League, but he was straight into it, nailing people in training.”
Suarez scored 82 goals in 133 games for Liverpool, a rate that only tells half the story. The real measure was the audacity. His four-goal dismantling of Norwich, sealed in a 5-1 win, remains one of the most inventive individual performances Liverpool supporters have witnessed. Every goal that night felt handcrafted, different flavours of absurdity, all somehow seasoned to perfection.
Shelvey echoed the wider sentiment when he added: “He’s in Miami but he can’t move now. It’s a bit sad when you watch him, really, but he was a joke. That year when he scored three or four hat-tricks in a season, he was a joke. He was a top, top player.”
Suarez impact at Liverpool went beyond goals
What separated Suarez at Liverpool was not just the volume of goals, it was the daily edge. Former teammates often reference a player who trained like defeat had insulted his family. That competitiveness, borderline volcanic, was both his fuel and his flaw. Yet for nearly three years, Liverpool benefited from a footballer who could attempt things others would not even sketch on a tactics board.
