Luis Suarez has admitted that he nearly quit football as a teenager after being told that he wouldn't make it.
The Uruguayan completed a £75m move from Liverpool to Barcelona in the summer on the back of a free-scoring season that brought the Reds to the brink of the Premier League title last term.
However, the 27-year-old has revealed that he nearly didn't fulfil his promise in the game.
Suarez told Barca's official website: "The early years were hard. At one time, at Nacional of Montevideo, when I was 14 years old, they told me I wasn't needed any more because that season I hadn't lived up to the club's expectations.
"I had gotten into bad company and I had to distance myself from all that and focus on my football.
"There were people at Nacional who helped to get me one last chance, and it was also then that I met Sofia and she guided me back onto the right kind of track to benefit my career."
Suarez could make his competitive debut for the Blaugrana in their clash with bitter rivals Real Madrid on October 26.
Chris O'Keefe
