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Former English referee Mark Clattenburg has revealed how he once thought Luis Suarez was better than footballing icons Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The 50-year-old called the Uruguayan marksman a 'talented player', but claimed that he was a 'difficult player to referee'.
Suarez is widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation. Having plied his trade for top teams like Ajax, Liverpool and Barcelona, he has racked up 509 goals and 277 assists in 846 club-level games thus far. He is also the all-time goalscoring leader for the Uruguayan national team, with 69 goals and 39 assists in 143 appearances.
On GOAL's Beast Mode On podcast, Clattenburg recalled a match-up between Ajax and Slovak side Slovan Bratislava during the 2009-10 UEFA Europa League season. In the first leg of the play-off round, Suarez scored four goals for the Dutch side as they trounced their hapless opposition 5-0.
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Clattenburg said:
"I'll tell you another player who I found incredibly talented. Difficult player to referee, but a talented player, was Luis Suarez. I remember refereeing him when he was playing for Ajax and he scored four against Slovan Bratislava. I came home to my mates and I went 'I've just watched one of the best players I've ever seen. Forget about Ronaldo, forget about Messi.'"
"I went, 'Wow, this player's a player.' He went on to sign for Liverpool a few months later. He was one of them players that could link everybody. I think Messi's openly said that he loved playing with Suarez because he did all the dirty work for him," Clattenburg added.
Despite having turned 38 this year, Suarez has continued to be a solid contributor for MLS side Inter Miami. He has racked up 10 goals and 14 assists in 32 appearances in the 2025 campaign.
"I found him easier to deal with" - When Mark Clattenburg revealed the difference between refereeing Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
Ex-Premier League and international referee Mark Clattenburg once revealed that it was easier for him to manage Cristiano Ronaldo on the field than Lionel Messi.
Speaking on the High Performance podcast, the 50-year-old former official said:
"He (Ronaldo) was different. Messi was an incredible football player; so was Ronaldo, but what I found with him is he used to lift his team as well like, he had this just something about him. Everything, he was leading from example. I found him easier to deal with because he spoke more English, Messi didn't really speak much English, so Cristiano was easier to deal with."
The Portuguese legend currently plays for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, while the Argentine maestro plays for Inter Miami in the MLS. The former has racked up four goals and an assist in five games, while the latter has bagged 25 goals and 12 assists in 30 games this season.
