Rodgers: Suarez must apologize

Disgruntled Liverpool striker Luis Suarez must apologize to his club and teammates if he wants to be welcomed back into the squad, manager Brendan Rodgers said.

Rodgers said Suarez, who was seeking a move away from the Merseyside club during the offseason, will need to mend relations when he returns from playing for Uruguay in a friendly in Japan on Wednesday.

"Initially there will be an apology to his teammates and the club, then a recognition that he is ready to fight for the club," Rodgers said after Liverpool lost to Celtic in Dublin on Saturday.

"I know that we are not seeing the Luis Suarez I know. He has spent some days working on his own. When he comes back from Uruguay we will see how it goes further," he said. "We are all on the same page. He won't be going to Arsenal, that's for sure. When Luis is committed to the cause, we will welcome him back with open arms."

Liverpool turned down a 40 million pound ($62 million) offer from Premier League rival Arsenal after Suarez sought to extricate himself from his contract on the basis that the club had failed to qualify for the Champions League this season.

"I was made aware at the end of last season that a number of clubs would come in. The reality is that one have done," said Rodgers.

Rodgers ordered Suarez to train alone after he told Spanish sports daily Marca in midweek he wanted an "amicable agreement" to leave Liverpool and thought a bid over 40 million pounds was enough to trigger a clause in his contract.

(China Daily 08/12/2013 page23)