Former Premier League and European referee, Mark Clattenburg, has named the player he was impressed with during his days in active service.
The former centre referee said that former Liverpool and Barcelona striker, Luis Suarez impressed him more than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Englishman noted that the Uruguayan was on fire during the 2009-10 season.
Clattenburg noted that the former Barcelona man was a difficult player to control but made him forget Messi and Ronaldo.
The former English referee said on Goal’s Beast Mode On podcast, “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 those players that could link everybody. I think Messi openly said that he loved playing with Suarez because he did all the dirty work for him,” he added.
Suarez had a brilliant career, having plied his trade for the likes of Liverpool and Barcelona, winning numerous trophies.
He now plays for Inter Miami with Lionel Messi.