New deal won’t secure Suarez’s Liverpool future, warns Barnes

John Barnes has warned that handing Luis Suarez a new contract will not guarantee that the striker will stay at Liverpool beyond the summer.

The Reds are understood to be in talks with the 26-year-old forward to extend his current deal beyond 2016.

But Ex-Liverpool man Barnes believes that the final decision over his future will rest with the player and won’t be influenced by whether he pens a fresh contract or not.

He has to want to stay. I want him to stay at Liverpool because he is a fantastic player

John Barnes

“Regardless of whether he gets a new contract for another five years or has another two-and-a-half years to go at the end of the season, I don’t think the very fact he has signed a new contact will make him stay,” Barnes told talkSPORT.

“He has to want to stay. I want him to stay at Liverpool because he is a fantastic player and he will help Liverpool, but only if he wants to be here.

“He has to be committed to the club. As much as he is playing well now, I don’t think it will be good for the club long-term because every time there is a transfer window it is going to rear its head.

“If he signs a new contract, he has to just say ‘I’m staying for the next five years’.”

Suarez has scored 17 Premier League goals this season to help Liverpool up to second in the table.