Henry dashes Suarez hopes

Luis Suarez’s hopes of a “friendly” resolution with Liverpool to his transfer saga suffered a massive blow last night after John W Henry insisted the striker will not be sold to Arsenal or to any other European club this summer.

Liverpool’s principal owner described the prospect of allowing Suarez join Arsenal as “ludicrous” and said he told Ivan Gazidis, the Arsenal chief executive, Liverpool would not entertain a bid from them, a club they perceive as a rival for Champions League qualification.

“We are not going to sell Luis,” said Henry. “For all the top clubs it’s extremely important [not to sell to a rival] but especially for Liverpool because we’re not in Europe this year and have not been in the Champions League for a while.