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Luis Suarez picks up Golden Shoe award at Barcelona ceremony… after explaining why he didn’t score against Manchester City to his children

Luis Suarez admitted there were questions to answer when he got home from Barcelona’s 4-0 win over Manchester City on Wednesday night when his children asked why he had not scored.

Suarez was joined on stage by his son and daughter as he was presented with the Golden Shoe for scoring 40 league goals last season – more than any other striker in Europe.

‘I told them don’t worry, we won and [Lionel] Messi scored a hat-trick and they were happy,’ he said.

Messi and Andres Iniesta also joined Suarez at the event in Barcelona as the Uruguayan won the award for the second time in three years.

Asked if it was more difficult winning the Golden Shoe with Liverpool – as he did two seasons ago – or with Barcelona, he hinted at the bittersweet nature of the last prize with the goals he scored not being enough to land the Premier League title.

He said: ‘The goals at Liverpool took us close to giving a Premier League to Liverpool but it wasn’t to be. It’s true that here I have team-mates who make things easier.

‘We have the best team in the world. Our priority is to win the league and then to win the Champions League and the Copa del Rey and then if it’s possible to pick up these individual awards.

‘Any striker loves to score goals but if you see someone in a better position then you do what is best for the team.

‘They [Messi and Neymar] participate in nearly all the goals but it’s not just about the strikers. If the ball doesn’t come out cleanly from the back then it never reaches the forwards.’

The scout who discovered him in Uruguay, Wilson Perez, appeared on the big screen talking about Suarez’s early days at Uruguayan club Nacional, where some fans labelled him a donkey because he struggled to score when he first broke through into the first team.

There were also words of congratulations from Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez.

Suarez said: ‘I want to thank Barcelona for giving me the chance to play here and fulfill a dream and for my team-mates who enable me to score the goals. This award is for them too and my coach who has trusted in me.

‘I never imagined things would go this well. I just came here with the idea of winning trophies with the team.’

Sporting Tribune

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