Brendan Rodgers and Luis Suarez have both left Liverpool

Gus Poyet thinks Brendan Rodgers might still be Liverpool manager if the club had not sold Luis Suarez.

The striker scored 31 goals in the 2013/14 Premier League season as Liverpool narrowly missed out on the title.

However, he left in the summer to join Barcelona and the Reds struggled to replace him. They finished sixth in 2014/15 and Rodgers was sacked eight games into the 2015/16 campaign.

"His (Suarez's) departure has cost Liverpool a lot," former Sunderland manager and fellow Uruguayan Poyet told Omnisport. "Among other things, probably Brendan Rodgers' job. Maybe if Suarez was still playing for Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers would be the coach today.

"Luis left Uruguay and moved to Dutch football, which has certain significance at a worldwide level, but his move to Liverpool put him on a higher level than many. Today he is playing a part in one of the most important trios in football history. That makes him very special.

"In England, he did good things in his first year, but his second year, he was unique. Some people misunderstood my words when I said that Liverpool almost won the Premier League thanks to Luis Suarez. I just wanted to demonstrate the significance of Luis Suarez on the pitch. I wasn't going against Liverpool.

Maybe if Suarez was still playing for Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers would be the coach today Gus Poyet

"It happens in any part of the world. Napoli won the league when Diego Maradona was playing there. This doesn't mean that I am saying that Napoli is nothing without Maradona. It is still Napoli, a great team. But it has been demonstrated that with Suarez, Liverpool were a better team."

While Liverpool have taken time to adjust to life without Suarez, the Uruguayan has thrived at Barcelona alongside Lionel Messi and Neymar.

Poyet believes he should have been nominated for the Ballon D'Or but says past indiscretions, such as biting opponents, might have counted against him.

"I think many things happened during the year that did not help Luis at all, everything that happened with the national team and the suspension," he said.

Suarez has impressed at Barcelona along with Lionel Messi (R) and Neymar

"There were moments in history when you could easily choose the best player in the world: when Pele was there it was him. Afterwards it was Maradona. Now we talk about Messi, Ronaldo... and now Neymar has come in and then appears Suarez to his great level.

"There are many great players. That makes the competition beautiful, but makes it difficult to choose only three. As a Uruguayan, a friend, and a football fan I would have liked to see him among the best three players in the world.

"I think he deserves it after those years playing against many people that have tried to go against him. Sometimes he has suffered injustice for his personality. It will be nice if he gets the recognition that he deserves."