Although he enjoyed his most prolific season last campaign, with an impressive 31 goals in 33 games, Luis Suarez nonetheless was not named to the 23-man list for the upcoming Ballon d'Or.
The Uruguayan ace earned the European Golden Shoe for his goal-scoring exploits, as well as the PFA Player of the Year award as his efforts nearly fired Liverpool to the Premier League title and played a huge role in the Reds securing qualification in the Champions League this year.
Yet, the 27-year-old, who is now with Barcelona, missed out, which raised some eyebrows around the continent due to his good displays for club and country, but his career has been marred by controversy. First was his eight-game ban for allegedly racially abusing then Manchester United defender Patrice Evra and most recently a four-month suspension for biting Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini at this summer's World Cup.
The bite on the Italian international is the third time Suarez has been involved in that kind of incident, with Chelsea fans recalling his attack on Branislav Ivanovic back in 2013. Nonetheless, despite his antics, the striker still expressed surprise recently that he wasn't nominated.
"Everyone has brought it to my attention, and as my teammate Gerard Pique said, they voted me as the best player in the most difficult league in the world, or one of the most difficult," he opined while appearing on RAC-1.
"And I was also the highest goalscorer in the [major] European leagues. So, yes, it's strange that that I'm not on the list."
However, he also went to add, sarcastically, perhaps:
"But I prefer to keep quiet before saying things because every time that I speak there could be a problem..."
Suarez has yet to net for the Blaugrana, who have lost their last two league games, and will be hoping to open his account as he faces off against former side Ajax tomorrow.
