If Luis Suarez is worth half a Gareth Bale, do the facts match those price tags?
If Luis Suarez is worth half a Gareth Bale, do the facts match those price tags?
One's got a £100million+ ticket - the other's being rated at less than half that price. But who added most value last season?
Luis Suarez celebrates after Gareth Bale's own-goal at White Hart Lane on November 28, 2012
John Powell
They both carried their teams on their backs last season yet one is deemed to be worth twice the value of the other.
Gareth
Bale’s 26 goals for Tottenham were an outstanding return for a winger and made him the go-to guy once the goals dried up for Emmanuel Adebayor
and Jermain Defoe.
But Luis Suarez struck 30 times for Liverpool last year, the first player so to do since Fernando Torres in the 2007/8 campaign. Brendan
Rodgers has expressed his confusion at the fact that Arsenal expect to get 26-year-old Suarez for just £40million while Real Madrid are having to sell off the family silver to raise up to £105million for 24-year-old
Bale.
While Rodgers is clearly trying to get the best possible
price he can for a player that he knows wants out of Anfield, it is hard
to disagree with his view that
Bale is not twice the player that Suarez is.
In fact, Suarez performed marginally better in the Premier League last season.
Both players played 33 times in the top flight but Suarez hit 23 goals compared to just 21 from Bale. Gareth Bale celebrates scoring
Action
In
terms of assists, Suarez edges it there as well with five goals to
Bale’s four. And in percentage terms the value of both players to their
clubs was equal with each scoring 32percent of their team’s goals.
Yes,
Suarez
has baggage with his short fuse offsetting his undoubted brilliance.
But it will be interesting to see whether Rodgers gains any support for
his view that Suarez is grossly underrated.
Either
way, should Suarez join Bale in Madrid both players will do well to
match the feats of footballing shock and awe set by Lionel Messi and
Cristiano Ronaldo.
Last season Ronaldo hit a superb 34 goals in 34 appearances and, including assists, created 62 chances.
Leo
Messi
hit a staggering 46 goals in 31 La Liga appearances - a shooting
accuracy of 62percent - and, including assists, created 46 chances.
No pressure then...
Bale vs Suarez, pure numbers, no opinions
Premier League 2012-13
Gareth Bale, Luis Suárez
Appearances 33 33
Starts 33 33
Minutes On Pitch 2,924 2,955 GOAL ATTEMPTS
Goals 21 23
Mins per goal 139 128
Headed goals 1 3
Right footed goals 4 15
Left footed goals 16 5
Goals inside box 12 18
Goals outside box 9 5
Penalty goals 0 0
Direct free kick goals 2 2
Shots 133 143
Total shots (including blocked) 165 187
Shots On Target 73 72
Shots Off Target 60 71
Shooting Accuracy 54.9% 50.3%
Chance Conversion 15.8% 16.1%
Blocked shots 32 44
% of Team Goals 31.8% 32.4% PASSING
Touches 2096 2059
Touches per game 63.5 62.4
Goal Assists 4 5
Key Passes 71 86
Total Passes 1,131 1,203
Pass Completion % 79% 77%
Pass Completion in final third % 72% 72% DUELS
Duels 445 552
Duels won % 44% 38% CROSSING
Total Crosses 272 58
Cross Completion % 23% 28% DRIBBLING
Dribbles & Runs 154 291
Dribble Completion % 38% 33% DEFENDING
Tackles Made 33 42
Tackles Won % 73% 81%
Blocks 3 3
Clearances 60 3
Interceptions 42 18 DISCIPLINE
Fouls 24 48
Fouls won 47 61
Offside 11 39
Yellow Cards 6 10
Red Cards 0 0
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