9 months ago
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Phil Jagielka says Luis Suarez was the player who gave him his hardest games.
Over the course of 12 seasons at Everton, Jagielka played 385 times and faced some of the best players around in his role as centre-back.
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The former Toffees captain, who also has 40 England caps, faced some of the world's greatest talents during his 23-year career, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Busquets and Gareth Bale.
But it was the Merseyside derby, against Liverpool and Suarez where he knew he'd be in for a tough afternoon.
"Suarez at that time was unplayable," he told talkSPORT.com when asked about which players made it tough for him.
"He was so game off the ball. The ball would drop to him and he’d finish it at times - he showed both ends of the game, would work as hard as anyone else and he’d get the goals.
"Obviously Stevie G [Steven Gerrard] in a similar area would score lots of goals, but I think, striker wise, Suarez was, should we say the most annoying? That might sum up how to describe him.
"I suppose if you're a striker that’s what you want to hear that other defenders think of you.
"We had other people like Kevin Davies, John Carew, he was almost impossible to play against, he’s probably twice my size but for a different reason to obviously people like Suarez."
Jagielka played and lost against Suarez on six occasions, five of which came in the Premier League for Everton and one in the 2014 World Cup with England.
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The striker scored six goals against him during their meetings, with the defender certainly finding it difficult to nullify his quality.
Liverpool spotted Suarez's attacking prowess at Ajax and signed him in 2011, with the Uruguayan going on to score 82 goals in 133 matches for the club.
Phil Jagielka reveals how Neil Warnock gave him a rollicking while naked at Sheffield United and thinks the Aberdeen players are in for a treat in the remainder of the Scottish season
He departed Anfield in 2014 for Barcelona, where he won four LaLiga titles, four Copa del Reys and the Champions League during a glittering six-year stint.
Suarez is now reunited with his Barca teammate Lionel Messi at Inter Miami, with MLS sides about to face one of football's most prolific players and get a taste of what Jagielka had to deal with.
