London: Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has revealed he told former team-mate Luis Suarez he was “too good” to join Arsenal when the north London club came calling for him last year.

Arsenal tabled a £40,000,001 ($67.5 million, €50.4 million) bid for Suarez a year ago in the mistaken belief it would trigger a release clause in his contract.

The Uruguayan went on to score 31 goals as Liverpool narrowly missed out on the Premier League title and although he has since joined Barcelona, Gerrard was relieved not to see him move to Arsenal.

“Last summer, when Luis was out in the cold, I told him, ‘Don’t go to Arsenal,’” Gerrard told the Thursday editions of several British newspapers. “With all due respect to them, I told him he was too good for Arsenal.”

Barcelona paid £75 million to secure Suarez’s services, despite the fact he is currently serving a four-month ban after biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup in Brazil.

While Gerrard was loath to see the back of a player who he has described as the most talented he has ever played with, he understood the 27-year-old’s reasons for heading to Catalonia.

“Luis’s dream, from the first day he came to us, was to play for Real Madrid or Barcelona,” said the 34-year-old.

“I said, ‘If you score 30 goals for us and win the PFA (Professional Footballers’ Association) Player of the Year and FWA (Football Writers’ Association) Footballer of the Year (awards), they will come back for you.’”

“I thought for his own sake, and to get our fans’ respect, he had to give us at least one more year.”

Gerrard added: “You can’t begrudge him his dream, leaving for Barca. But I’d have been disappointed if he had left for Arsenal.”

Meanwhile, Suarez’s four-month ban for biting an opponent at the World Cup is “excessive”, his new Barcelona team-mate Pedro Rodriguez declared on Wednesday.

“I think the punishment by Fifa is excessive,” the Spanish forward told reporters during Barcelona’s week-long training camp at St George’s Park in central England.

“But we have to leave that to one side. He’ll be very welcome in Barcelona and the supporters will be behind him as soon as he starts playing and is giving his best for the team. I’m sure he will do well with Barca.”

Pedro also lamented Barcelona’s decision to sell his international colleague Cesc Fabregas to Chelsea.

“Everybody knows Cesc is a great player, one of the best in his position in the world,” Pedro said.

“It’s a shame for my position because obviously where I play, as a striker, he is a guy who can provide you with very good passes. As a friend, we’ve got a very good relationship and I’m going to miss him a lot.

“In terms of Chelsea being Champions League rivals of ours, they’ve built a very good team and with Cesc as well, they’re going to be very difficult to beat.”