One of the biggest talking points at the World Cup in recent days has been the ‘self-destruction’ of Liverpool and Uruguay forward Luis Suarez, resulting in a four month ban from competitive football. A year or so since he was involved in ‘biting’ the arm of Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic and suffering a 10-game ban, he became one of the most feared strikers in the Barclay’s Premier League scoring 31 goals. As a result he was the recipient of the PFA’s Player of the Year, Football Writers’ Player of the Year and Golden Boot awards.

As if that wasn’t enough, his two goals for Uruguay against England in the World Cup group stage eventually sent The Three Lions crashing out of the World Cup. At that point, the year-old biting incident was little more than a distant memory, and Suarez had become a national hero.

It’s hard to believe that in the crucial ‘do or die’ encounter against Italy, Suarez unleashed the beast and went after Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini’s arm, later pretending he was hurt from an elbow jab while video replays clearly show otherwise.

Since then, Suarez has become the subject of countless memes, tweets and criticism from fans and pundits across the globe. With this ‘self-destruction’ came a swift ban from the world football governing body that apparently extends to all football activities for both club and country.

Suarez’s World Cup is over, as well as any possible talks of a transfer. According to the Daily Mail, former Kop hero Robbie Fowler stated that he has “dragged the club’s name through the mud again”.

This was Suarez’s third biting offence, so FIFA extended no mercy to Liverpool’s number seven, who will also miss out on the Copa America for his country next year as a result of the ban. Uruguay will have to carry on without their star forward for the remainder of the World Cup.

Although no statement has yet been released by Reds boss Brendan Rodgers, it is likely they are not too happy to be without their champion striker for the first month or two of their upcoming crucial season, which includes their return to the UEFA Champions League after a five year absence. The Reds were also without him for six games last season.

Reports had been circulating for some time that Spanish giants Barcelona were looking to bring in him for a rumored £80 million, but with the ban in effect he could go for a lot cheaper…

Whether Liverpool cash in on the troubled striker and bring-in a suitable replacement is anyone’s guess, but they may not be as forgiving this time as they were last year when Suarez first announced his intentions to leave the club. Last year, Arsene Wenger’s £40 million attempt to bring him to Arsenal failed, but this time around Rodgers may be looking to acquire a striker who can provide Liverpool with the right start to the season.