Barcelona striker Luis Suarez claims Liverpool would never have mounted their unexpected title challenge last season without him.
The Uruguay international scored 31 Premier League goals as the Reds finished runners-up to Manchester City and insists he left Anfield a happy man this summer, when a £75 million (Dh438m) deal took him to the Nou Camp.
That contrasted sharply with his feelings at the start of his final campaign in England, for which he was suspended as he was still serving some of his 10-game ban for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic, and he was made to train on his own after trying to manufacture a move away.
While serving the remainder of his ban, Liverpool picked up 10 points out of a possible 15 but having been reintegrated into the squad the striker returned with 19 goals in his first 12 league games as the Reds gathered increasing momentum on their way to second place.
“Personal success is always welcome and makes you happy, because that’s recognition of the good work you have done,” said Suarez, who is due to receive the Golden Shoe for being Europe’s joint-leading scorer from Liverpool icon Kenny Dalglish in Barcelona this week.
“But I put the team ahead of that and last season Liverpool came so close to winning the Premier League, which would have been spectacular.”
Suarez added: “I appreciate all the work the team did but I missed six matches and scored all those goals in the Premier League without being the penalty-taker.
“The truth is that I left very happy because if I hadn’t had the attitude and mentality to want to lead the team forward, I don’t think Liverpool would have done as well as they did either. Getting back into the Champions League was another target I had in mind.”
Reflecting on the incident in which he bit Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup, he also admitted: “I found it hard to take in and to realise what I had done.
“When I say I’m sorry it’s because I regret something. Being sorry implies regret.”