SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - JUNE 19: Luis Suarez of Uruguay celebrates after scoring his team's second goal during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Group D match between Uruguay and England at Arena de Sao Paulo on June 19, 2014 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Juventus defender Patrice Evra has congratulated Barcelona forward Luis Suarez on his European Golden Shoe award.
Suarez served an eight-match suspension and received a £40,000 fine while at Liverpool after the Football Association found the Uruguayan guilty of racially abusing Evra during a game against Manchester United in 2011.
The Uruguayan admitted using the word “negro” but insisted it was inoffensive in the context, subsequently blamed Evra, claiming the Senegalese-born Frenchman incited the incident and was not as proficient a Spanish speaker as he believed.
Suarez later refused Evra’s handshake before another Liverpool-United match at Old Trafford.
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Evra said ahead of the 2015 Champions League final between Juventus and Barca that he was happy to shake Suarez’s hand even if he would never be the Uruguayan’s “best friend” and, discussing the FA hearing, added: “I didn’t say to the judge that Luis Suarez is a racist person. I just said in that moment he [made] some racist comment.”
However, the French defenseman seems to have put all their animosity behind him and congratulated Suarez for winning the Golden Shoe award.
On Thursday, Evra posted a photo of Suarez with the trophy on his Instagram page, accompanied by the following message in Spanish: “In my Instagram there is only love and never hate!
“Luis – you’re a great player, the best No 9. Congratulations. I love this game.”
Clearly, Evra’s Spanish language skills seem better than Suarez described.
The Golden Shoe ranks top goal-scorers in European leagues via a point system where goals in the major five leagues are worth two points each, and those in lower-ranked leagues are worth less.
Suarez topped the charts with 40 for Barcelona in the 2015/16 La Liga season. He also shared the award with Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo in 2013/14 after scoring 31 times for Liverpool.
Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard also praised Suarez on Instagram, writing: “The best number 9 on the planet #mymate.”
SAO PAULO, BRAZIL – JUNE 19: Luis Suarez of Uruguay celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Group D match between Uruguay and England at Arena de Sao Paulo on June 19, 2014 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
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