Some people understand the meaning of hard work from a very young age.
Because for many, life is anything but easy.
Luis Suárez was one of those people.
From an early age, he knew that anything he wanted had to be earned through his own efforts. He had to seize every opportunity, no matter how slim, and once he had it, he would do everything in his power to hold onto it.
That was a lesson life had drilled into him since childhood.
His father was a soldier, and his mother a housewife. They had seven children, and Suárez was the fourth.
Born in Salto, Uruguay's second-largest city, Suárez grew up in poverty. When he was seven, his parents moved the family to the capital, Montevideo, in search of better opportunities.
But for young Suárez, the change of scenery didn't make much difference. He was still playing football—only now, instead of kicking a ball on the grass fields of Salto, he was doing it on the concrete streets of Montevideo.
Even at a young age, his talent was undeniable. Everyone who saw him play believed he was destined for greatness, that he would follow in the footsteps of Álvaro Recoba, escape the slums, leave South America, and make it in Europe.
But when Suárez was nine, his father, Rodolfo, left the family.
His mother, Sandra, was left to raise seven children on her own with a meager income. They lived in a cramped 15-square-meter room, eating sausages and rice every day because it was all they could afford.
When he was eleven, Suárez was scouted by the Uruguayan national youth academy, but he didn't have the money to go, not even for a pair of football boots.
During those painful years, the boy lost his passion for the game. He drifted, lost his sense of direction, and forgot his dreams.
He started skipping school and training, spending his time partying with friends. His temper grew more volatile. At the Nacional youth academy, he would get into fights with teammates and clash with coaches over the smallest disagreements. His future looked bleak.
His family tried to intervene, his siblings tried to help, but over time, everyone came to the same conclusion—he was a lost cause.
Then, at fifteen, he met a girl named Sofía through a teammate.
She had long blonde hair and was stunningly beautiful. Suárez fell for her instantly.
Sofía's arrival changed everything.
He became obsessed with winning her over. He started training with an almost maniacal intensity, just to earn small bonuses from his coach, Wilson. He would save up whatever little he made, take the bus 40 kilometers out of the city, and visit Sofía.
Despite coming from a middle-class family, neither Sofía nor her parents looked down on him for his poverty. Instead, she encouraged him. She urged him to focus on his training and his studies.
From that moment on, Suárez's football improved by leaps and bounds. It was as if he had become a completely different person.
But just a year later, in 2003, Sofía dropped a bombshell, her family was moving to Barcelona.
Suárez was devastated.
By the end of that year, with the help of his agent, Daniel Fonseca, and his older brother, he scraped together a plane ticket and sixty U.S. dollars. He flew from Montevideo to Barcelona, just to see Sofía again.
And in that moment, he swore to himself, he would make it to Europe.
Three years later, in June 2006—just days before Gao Shen arrived in Buenos Aires—Suárez's dream came true. He signed with FC Groningen in the Netherlands.
He had made it to Europe. He was one step closer to Sofía.
The day after finalizing his move, he flew straight to Barcelona. He stayed for ten days and, through a mix of persuasion and persistence, convinced Sofía to come with him to Groningen.
Since then, the two had never been apart.
From that day on, every goal he scored, every match he played, was for one reason, for Sofía, for his family, for everything he had fought for.
Every summer, he returned to Barcelona with Sofía to visit her parents.
By now, he was a star at Ajax, one of the biggest clubs in the Netherlands. But across Europe, he was still relatively unknown, especially in Barcelona. He could walk down the streets, and almost no one would recognize him.
But this year was different.
He received a phone call.
A call that made him feel, once again, that fate was giving him a chance.
…
Gao Shen's secret meeting with Suárez felt almost like a covert operation.
Two cars entered the underground parking lot of Gao Shen's hotel at the same time. Hotel staff guided them through a special passage used for VIPs. From there, they took a private elevator directly to the suite where the meeting was set to take place.
Throughout the entire process, the hotel ensured absolute discretion—no onlookers, no risk of being seen.
This was a standard service in high-end hotels, designed for exactly these kinds of situations.
Once Suárez was safely upstairs, his father-in-law and his agent, Fonseca, each drove their cars out of the hotel parking lot, ensuring that no trace of his visit remained.
For now, he was still an Ajax player. Keeping the meeting under wraps was essential.
Standing in front of Gao Shen, Suárez had his trademark jet-black, slightly curly hair parted at the sides. He wore a hooded sports sweatshirt. But what stood out the most was his prominent buck teeth.
Gao Shen couldn't help but wonder, aside from psychological reasons, did his occasional biting incidents have anything to do with those teeth?
The meeting had been arranged by Suárez's agent, Fonseca.
Gao Shen's goal was simple, he wanted to gauge Suárez's willingness to join Manchester City.
If Suárez agreed, Manchester City would officially begin negotiations with Ajax.
Suárez was just as curious about Gao Shen as Gao Shen was about him.
Alone in the hotel room, the first topic they discussed was Ajax.
Suárez's relationship with Van Basten at Ajax had been far from ideal, perhaps even strained. But with Van Basten now sacked and Martin Jol taking over as head coach, Suárez had yet to meet his new manager.
He respected Van Basten, but he also had his fair share of frustrations, particularly regarding the way Van Basten handled the dressing room and his usage of Suárez.
"I never understood why he didn't like me," Suárez admitted. "We never had a real conversation, not even once. Not like this, one-on-one. So I have no idea what the real reason was."
All his complaints were based on speculation.
Gao Shen nodded. He had noticed that many coaches avoided communicating with players directly, and he found that baffling.
How could you understand what a player was thinking without talking to them?
Yet, some managers operated that way, as if players were just high-performance assets, nothing more.
"I've watched some of your matches," Gao Shen said. "At Ajax, you've mostly played as a winger. At first, you were on either side of Huntelaar, but later, you were pushed out of the starting lineup. Honestly, I don't think that's the best position for you."
Suárez listened intently, nodding but saying nothing. His gaze remained locked on Gao Shen.
"I don't know if you've watched Napoli's games," Gao Shen continued.
"Of course. More than once."
"What do you think of them?"
Suárez thought for a moment. "A team that's always chasing victory—hungry."
"Well said!" Gao Shen praised. "I like hungry players. A team full of them can achieve great things. And I think you're one of them."
"You can tell?" Suárez grinned, flashing his signature buck teeth.
"It's in your eyes," Gao Shen said, staring at him. "You can't hide that kind of thing, it radiates from you."
Suárez smiled.
"You won't be satisfied at Ajax," Gao Shen continued. "The Eredivisie isn't enough for you anymore. You should move to a bigger stage, where you can prove yourself properly. And more importantly, you should be playing through the middle, not out wide."
"The central role comes with tighter marking, more physical battles, and greater pressure," Suárez pointed out.
"But it's also closer to goal," Gao Shen challenged. "Besides, Luis, are you telling me you can't handle it?"
Suárez was fired up. "I can play anywhere in attack—through the middle, out wide, left or right. It doesn't matter!"
At Ajax, he had played mostly as a winger and performed well in both roles.
"You're not physically strong enough yet. But we have the best fitness coach in the world, he'll help you improve your physicality. Your finishing efficiency needs work, and you struggle with back-to-goal play but we have the best technical coaches in the world to fix that too.
"In Manchester City, I'm building a midfield that will create constant chances for the attack. All you have to do is hold the ball, dribble, and score!"
Gao Shen leaned forward, his voice full of conviction. "I trained Cavani to become the top scorer in Serie A. And I'm confident I can turn you into the top scorer of the Premier League, if we share the same vision."
Suárez was impressed. "Back in Uruguay, my teammates always said I could score even if I was blindfolded. At Ajax, I've learned how to pass, how to press, and how to play within a system."
"You're right—I am a hungry player. I'm desperate for success. And I'll do whatever it takes on the pitch to get there. I'll fight until the last second.
"So let me tell you this now, I will never let you down!"
Gao Shen smiled, satisfied with his answer.
He had no intention of involving Suárez in negotiations with Ajax, he wasn't that kind of manager.
After their meeting, he simply told Suárez to go back and wait for news. As if nothing had happened.
"Be ready, Luis," Gao Shen said as they parted. "Believe me, we'll see each other again in Manchester soon!"
(To be continued.)