Luis Suarez Names Gabriel Batistuta as the Player He Most Admired Growing Up

Barcelona striker Luis Suarez was reunited with former Liverpool team-mate Jamie Carragher this week, as the two sat down to discuss the highs and lows of the Uruguayan's career so far in an interview for MailOnline.

Among the questions on life at Barcelona and his hopes for the future, Carragher asked Suarez to name the one player he admired most of all as a youngster; Suarez's instant response was:

"

Gabriel Batistuta. He was a spectacular No 9 - great at finding space, shooting from outside the box, good in the air. He was always a reference for me and I used to watch the way he played. He took free-kicks as well. I don’t get to take them here! (laughs) but I’d copy him and watch videos of him all the time.

"

Batistuta was a lethal striker who remains Argentina's all-time leading scorer with 56 international goals, and it's easy to believe Suarez modelled his game on him.

But having scored 61 goals in just 77 games since joining Barca from Liverpool in July 2014, including the all-important second goal as the Catalans beat Juventus 3-1 in last year's UEFA Champions League final, it's more than likely Suarez will have surpassed his fellow South American's achievements by the time he hangs up his boots.

[h/t MailOnline]