Explained: Details of Luis Suarez knee problem that threatens to scupper Lionel Messi reunion at MLS side Inter Miami

The veteran striker has played his last game for Brazilian outfit Gremio and will now become a free agent. The expectation was that the 36-year-old Uruguay international would head north to join former Barcelona team-mate Messi in Florida. Suarez has, however, hinted that he may yet be forced into retirement as long-standing fitness issues leave him in “constant pain”.

Suarez has told Sport 890 radio of how difficult it is for him to take to the field: “On the outside of my knee I have tension that remains from surgery in 2020 when I was at Barcelona. In my last stage of recovery, the pandemic came and I had to do exercises on my own and I couldn’t finish stretching my knee. On the inside I have cartilage wear and that hits the bone. The days before each game I take three pills and hours before playing I get an injection. If not, I can’t play. Hence the limp. I have to think that in maybe five years I won’t be able to play five-a-side football with my friends. The truth is that the first steps in the morning are very painful. Anyone who sees me thinks that it is impossible for me to play a game. My son asks me to play with him and I can’t.”

Suarez has still been able to deliver when playing through the pain, with 27 goals recorded through 52 appearances for Gremio in 2023. He may decide that he has at least one more season left in him, with the ex-Liverpool and Ajax star adding: “I am very hard-headed and I want to continue playing football, but I still don’t know what is going to happen.”

Inter Miami have parted company with Venezuela international Josef Martinez, leaving them with a striking berth to fill in Tata Martino’s squad, and Messi would – as he takes aim at more major silverware in 2024 – welcome the opportunity to add another familiar face alongside him in the United States.