Luis Suarez reverses Uruguay retirement ahead of World Cup: ‘I apologised to those I needed to’

Luis Suarez has said he is available for Uruguay selection ahead of the upcoming World Cup, over 18 months after announcing his retirement from international football.

The 39-year-old, his nation’s record scorer with 69 goals in 143 appearances, has not played for Uruguay since September 2024, when he said it was the “right time” to end his 17-year international career.

The following month, the Inter Miami striker said he felt “hurt” by the culture instilled by Uruguay manager Marcelo Bielsa and said “players are going to reach a limit and explode.”

Suarez has not been involved with the Uruguay squad since but now he has said he is open to representing Uruguay again, and said he has already “apologised” to the relevant people he felt he needed to.

“I would never say no to the national team if they need me, especially with a World Cup coming up,” Suarez told reporters this week, in quotes carried by EFE press agency.

“At the time, I stepped aside to make way for the younger generation. I said something I shouldn’t have said. I have already apologised to those I needed to apologise to.”

The former Liverpool, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid striker renewed his contract with Inter Miami in December for a further year, and has scored two goals in eight appearances this campaign.

“I still have that adrenaline, that desire to keep playing,” Suarez said of his future. “You realise you still have a little bit of life left in you.

“You get the urge to keep competing. You can see it on the pitch when you still get angry about the losses and the bad passes, and you still enjoy it when you score goals.”

Suarez’s retirement from international football in 2024 followed that of Edinson Cavani, who scored 58 goals for his nation, two years earlier. In Uruguay’s current squad, Darwin Nunez is the leading national scorer with 13 goals.

Suarez’s storied Uruguay career

Suarez represented Uruguay at nine major tournaments and was part of their 2011 Copa America-winning side. Suarez scored four times at the 2011 Copa America, including twice in the semi-finals and once in the final. He was named Player of the Tournament as Uruguay won the competition for a 15th time and the first since 1995.

At the World Cup in 2010, the striker scored three goals in six appearances, including both goals in Uruguay’s 2-1 victory over South Korea in the round of 16.

He was sent off in the quarter-final against Ghana after blocking Dominic Adiyiah’s goal-bound effort with his hand in the final minute of extra time, preventing a goal that would likely have eliminated his side. Asamoah Gyan missed the subsequent penalty and Uruguay progressed on penalties to reach the World Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1970.

After scoring both of his side’s goals during the 2014 World Cup group stage victory over England, Suarez bit Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini in Uruguay’s final group game and was handed a nine-game ban from international football, ruling him out of the remainder of the tournament and the 2015 Copa America. It was the third biting incident of his career, having received suspensions for biting Otman Bakkal during his time at Ajax and Branislav Ivanovic while at Liverpool.

The former Liverpool and Barcelona forward returned to international football to help Uruguay qualify for the 2018 World Cup, and scored twice at the tournament in Russia as his side reached the quarter-finals.

Suarez represented Uruguay further at four major tournaments: the 2022 World Cup and 2019, 2021 and 2024 Copa America. He was predominantly restricted to substitute cameos by Marcelo Bielsa at this summer’s tournament, making four appearances from the bench and scoring once in the third-place play-off.

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