Luis Suárez has admitted his surprise at not being included on Fifa’s 23-man shortlist for this year’s Ballon d’Or but vowed to not make an issue of his snub.
The Barcelona striker was a notable absentee from the list when it was released last week, despite winning the Premier League’s Player of the Year award and finishing as the top scorer with 31 goals for Liverpool last season.
It was widely assumed that Suárez’s absence was down to his disciplinary problems that saw him banned for four months after biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup, with Liverpool’s captain Steven Gerrard describing the decision to omit the Uruguayan as “political”.
Suárez was questioned about the snub for the first time in a interview with the Spanish radio station RAC1 on Monday night and hinted at his frustration but stopped short of criticising the governing body.
“Everyone brings it to attention, as Gerard Piqué said, and what he told me is that they voted me as the best player in the most difficult league in the world, or one of the most difficult,” he said.
“I was also the highest goalscorer of all of the European leagues. But I prefer to keep quiet before saying things because every time that I speak there could be a problem.”
Suárez is preparing to face his former club Ajax in Amsterdam in the Champions League on Wednesday night having yet to score for Barcelona since his ban was lifted but is confident the goals will start to flow soon.
“The coach knows where to use the players. I play in any attacking position. I already did it at Liverpool and Ajax,” he said.
“It is a privilege to play alongside Leo [Messi], even if people are doubting him. We all know what type of player he is, the Ballons d’Or that he has. The same with Xavi, Andrés [Iniesta]. We have to work with each other more.”
Suárez was also asked whether he had ever considered signing for Real Madrid in the summer. He said: “There were conversations but not at any moment did I feel close to the white club.”
