Luis Suarez confirmed on Monday that he will hang up his boots after Uruguay’s 2026 World Cup qualifying match against Paraguay on Friday.
Legendary Uruguayan player Luis Suarez declared on Monday that he is quitting football and would hang up his boots after Uruguay’s 2026 World Cup qualifying match against Paraguay on Friday in Montevideo.
“Friday will be my last match for my country,” an emotional Suarez, 37, told a press conference. “It was not an easy decision to make, but I do it with the peace of mind that I will give my maximum until the very last game of my (Uruguay) career.”
With 69 goals in 142 appearances, the former Barcelona and Liverpool striker is retiring from international football as the highest scorer for Uruguay. He is largely considered as one of the greatest players of his period.
On Monday, Suarez declared that leading Uruguay to the Copa title was the pinnacle of his professional life.
“I wouldn’t trade the Copa America title for anything,” he said. “It was the best moment of my career. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Luis Suarez international career
Suarez made his Uruguayan debut in 2007. He was notoriously sent out from the 2014 World Cup after receiving a four-month ban for biting Giorgio Chiellini of Italy.
The Inter Miami forward helped Uruguay win the 2011 Copa America, for which he was awarded player of the tournament. Uruguay would go on to play in nine major tournaments as a representative of the continent.
Suarez was a dynamic and skilled attacker who had a deadly eye for goal, but he was also in constant controversy.
He was one of the villains of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, as well, after his callous handball on the goal-line denied Ghana a late winner in the quarterfinals. This incident occurred in addition to the biting incident that ended his participation in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
After Ghana missed the subsequent opportunity after Suarez was sent off for that violation, Uruguay managed to advance to the semi-finals via a penalty shoot-out.
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Throughout his time at Manchester United, Suarez was plagued by controversy as well. Most famously, in 2011, English officials banned him from eight games for allegedly mistreating Patrice Evra, a renowned player for France, based on race.
Later, Suarez would assist Uruguay in making it to the World Cups in 2018 and 2022. He also played in the Copa America this summer, mainly as a substitute for head coach Marcelo Bielsa. In a play-off triumph over Canada for third place, he scored his 69th goal for his country.
