Luis Suarez has revealed the depth of gratitude he holds for former Liverpool teammate Kolo Toure. The Uruguayan striker was distraught when Liverpool drew 3-3 with Crystal Palace in the 2013/14 season, and his Ivorian teammate, then on the bench, was moved to comfort Suarez, now thriving at Barcelona.
Kolo Toure, who was recently released by Liverpool, enjoyed a stellar performance with the Reds in the Europa League, thus becoming a fan favourite along the way. Toure’s importance to the Liverpool squad, even while not playing, was underlined by Suarez in a revealing story:
When Suarez infamously broke down at the final whistle of Liverpool’s catastrophic 3-3 draw with Crystal Palace that extinguished their title dreams, Kolo Toure came to the Uruguayan’s aid, shielding him from the intrusive cameras on the pitch and guiding him to the tunnel.
Here’s Suarez’ recounting of the tale:
“It seemed to take an eternity to get there; I was being led almost as if I was a blind man,” explained the Uruguayan. “I didn't take my head out from my shirt the entire way. Kolo walked me all the way, talking: “Okay, okay, we're nearly there...”
“In the dressing room, there was absolute silence, no-one said a word. Not one word for 20 minutes at least...Kolo was the person who broke the silence. That's the way he is; it's his personality. I really appreciate what he did for me, leading me off the pitch. It's rarer than you might think, to find a player who supports you like he did that night.
“And the important thing for me is that he didn't just do it there, as we went off the pitch, in front of everyone. No. He stayed by me in the dressing room, when I still felt awful, and on the team bus afterwards, he came and sat with me for a bit. He came to see how I was, to try and comfort me.”
It’s been a bad couple of weeks for the former Liverpool duo, with Kolo Toure facing an uncertain future, while Luis Suarez watched in frustration from the sideline as he was unable to take part in Uruguay’s disastrous Copa America Centenario exit from the group stages.
However, the pair will remember their Liverpool days with plenty of fondness, although Toure is reportedly being offered a deal by Ligue 1 side AS Monaco, while Suarez continues to thrive at Barcelona
