Luis Suarez took a shot at Uruguay’s manager Marcelo Bielsa for his conduct with the players during the Copa America 2024, where they finished third in the tournament. Suarez, who recently announced his retirement from international football, lashed out at Biesla and said that the Uruguay players were not enjoying their time at the national team during the South American Cup.

Suarez has urged the fans not to criticise the players for their underperformance and blamed Biesla for dividing the group.

“I will ask the fans not to take it out on the players when things go wrong. Bielsa has divided the whole group because of the way he trains,” he added.

“The players will reach a limit, they’ll explode. There were even teammates who said to me they were only playing in the Copa America and nothing else,” he said.

Suarez, who finished his Urguyan career as the country’s leading goalscorer, talked about Biesla’s approach to dealing with the senior stars in the team and said why he decided to keep quiet about it during the Copa America.

“We all know that he doesn’t like to deal with leaders or players with experience. I had to keep quiet out of respect for the national team and for the sake of coexistence. I didn’t want to be part of the problem.”

He added that one of the situations was the mistreatment of midfielder Agustin Canobbio, who was forced to train as a ball boy and a spare man.

“A player who is one of the 26 selected for the Copa America can’t be made to participate as if he were a ‘sparring’ partner. It’s annoying. I understand Agustin. I’ll support him, he’s been holding back a lot.”

Suarez also lamented the negative atmosphere in Uruguay’s facilities and said the coach didn’t even greet players in the morning.

“The staff are not allowed to come in and greet us or eat with us. Many of the players held a meeting to ask the coach to at least say good morning, he didn’t even say hello. It hurts me to see what the national team is going through,” he added.