Gremio manager Renato Gaucho has stated that the club’s final game with Uruguayan attacker Luis Suarez will be on Sunday.
Suarez has been expected to leave the club for several months and is now likely to rejoin his friend Lionel Messi at Inter Miami.
Gaucho wishes the striker had stayed at the club because he had 26 goals in 51 games.
“Are we going to miss him? Certainly, without a doubt, he is very loved by everyone,” Gaucho said ahead of Suarez’s final match.
“I had the pleasure of working with a great professional, one of the best in the world and the fourth highest scorer in the world. This void will remain for the next year because it’s not easy to find someone of his talent and ability.
“When you find someone else, it’s impossible to bring him in financially. Unfortunately, as I said before, it was very difficult for him to stay. Everyone wanted it, but only he could reverse this decision.
“Unfortunately, he will leave, and there will be this vacuum in Gremio’s attack. Then it’s up to the board and president to try to find another striker.
“It was a great pleasure, not only for me but for the whole club. A guy who always gave himself was an exemplary professional.”
The 36-year-old took to the club with great energy and a willingness to win with the Porto Allegre side.
“It’s a great sadness for everyone,’ Gaucho continued. He arrived at the beginning of the year; he has helped us a lot, and the fans were enchanted by him.
“He is an extraordinary professional on and off the field. He arrived quietly; he was letting go, playing, and accepting the games.
“I often wanted to take him out of training or a game, but he wanted to continue. He wants to play every game, and it doesn’t hurt.”
While a move to Florida has not been announced, Suarez is expected to join Inter Miami in January.
He’ll arrive in February, just in time for the start of the 2024 MLS season, where he’s anticipated to make an impact up front.
He will join a side that includes Messi as well as former Barcelona teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.