Arsenal did activate a release clause in Luis Suarez’s contract last summer when they made a £40m plus a pound offer for the Liverpool striker, but the Reds’ hierarchy rejected the bid because “contracts don’t seem to mean a lot”.

That is the view of Liverpool owner John W Henry, who has revealed that the club refused to allow the Uruguayan to leave the club and are now reaping the benefits, with the 26-year-old agreeing a new four-and-a-half year contract to remain at Anfield.

The Gunners thought they had activated a clause that would allow them to negotiate a move for Suarez, who was pushing for a move away from the club after they failed to secure European football at the end of last season.

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Shape Created with Sketch. Liverpool: The latest match pictures Show all 50 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. Liverpool: The latest match pictures 1/50 Crystal Palace 3 Liverpool 3 Steven Gerrard shepherds Luis Suarez from the field as he cries at the end of the 3-3 draw with Crystal Palace AFP/Getty 2/50 Crystal Palace 3 Liverpool 3 Martin Skrtel reacts after the 3-3 draw between Liverpool and Crystal Palace Getty Images 3/50 Crystal Palace 3 Liverpool 3 Luis Suarez adds a third immediately after Sturridge's goal, giving Liverpool a seemingly unassailable 3-0 lead Getty Images 4/50 Crystal Palace 3 Liverpool 3 Daniel Sturridge doubles Liverpool's lead as his deflected effort beat Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni Getty Images 5/50 Crystal Palace 3 Liverpool 3 Joe Allen heads Liverpool into the lead as he converts a first-half corner Getty Images 6/50 Liverpool 0 Chelsea 2 Willian has the simplest of finishes to make it 2-0 for Chelsea GETTY IMAGES 7/50 Liverpool 0 Chelsea 2 Demba Ba celebrates his goal GETTY IMAGES 8/50 Liverpool 0 Chelsea 2 Demba Ba scores for Chelsea after Steven Gerrard's slip GETTY IMAGES 9/50 Liverpool 0 Chelsea 2 Steven Gerard and Jon Flanagan try to retrieve the ball from Jose Mourinho GETTY IMAGES 10/50 Liverpool 0 Chelsea 2 Tomas Kalas, on his Premier League debut, tackles Raheen Sterling GETTY IMAGES 11/50 Norwich 2 Liverpool 3 New Norwich manager Neil Adams salutes the crowd prior to kick-off GETTY IMAGES 12/50 Norwich 2 Liverpool 3 Raheem Sterling fires Liverpool into an early lead at Carrow Road GETTY IMAGES 13/50 Norwich 2 Liverpool 3 Raheem Sterling celebrates his opener with manager Brendan Rodgers 14/50 Norwich 2 Liverpool 3 Luis Suarez scores against Norwich in Liverpool's 3-2 win GETTY IMAGES 15/50 Norwich 2 Liverpool 3 Raheem Sterling and Luis Suarez celebrate during Liverpool's game with Norwich GETTY IMAGES 16/50 Norwich 2 Liverpool 3 Raheem Sterling is challenged 17/50 Norwich 2 Liverpool 3 Gary Hooper pulls a goal back for Norwich after a mistake by Simon Mignolet GETTY IMAGES 18/50 Norwich 2 Liverpool 3 Joe Allen challenges Robert Snodgrass for the ball GETTY IMAGES 19/50 Norwich 2 Liverpool 3 Raheem Sterling's shot deflects off Bradley Johnson and over John Ruddy to put Liverpool 3-1 ahead GETTY IMAGES 20/50 Norwich 2 Liverpool 3 Robert Snodgrass sets up a thrilling finale by heading a second Norwich goal GETTY IMAGES 21/50 Norwich 2 Liverpool 3 Liverpool players rush to celebrate with captain Steven Gerrard at the final whistle GETTY IMAGES 22/50 Liverpool 3 Manchester City 2 Philippe Coutinho fires in Liverpool's winner 23/50 Liverpool 3 Manchester City 2 David Silva pulls one back for Manchester City 24/50 Liverpool 3 Manchester City 2 Martin Skrtel heads in Liverpool's second 25/50 Liverpool 3 Manchester City 2 Raheem Sterling celebrates his opening goal with Luis Suarez 26/50 West Ham 1 Liverpool 2 Steven Gerard leads Liverpool's celebration after scoring his second penalty of the afternoon GETTY IMAGES 27/50 West Ham 1 Liverpool 2 Adrian appears to win the ball but brings down Jon Flanagan too and referee Anthony Taylor awards Liverpool their second penalty GETTY IMAGES 28/50 West Ham 1 Liverpool 2 Steven Gerard tries to chase down Mohamed Diame GETTY IMAGES 29/50 West Ham 1 Liverpool 2 Raheem Sterling and Pablo Armero compete for the ball GETTY IMAGES 30/50 West Ham 1 Liverpool 2 Liverpool players protest against Guy Demel's equaliser after Andy Carroll appeared to foul goalkeeper Simon Mignolet GETTY IMAGES 31/50 West Ham 1 Liverpool 2 Steven Gerard celebrates after scoring his penalty GETTY IMAGES 32/50 West Ham 1 Liverpool 2 Steven Gerard makes no mistake from the spot to put Liverpool ahead GETTY IMAGES 33/50 West Ham 1 Liverpool 2 Luis Suarez forces James Tomkins into a hand ball and giving away a penalty GETTY IMAGES 34/50 West Ham 1 Liverpool 2 Luis Suarez's chipped effort hits the bar GETTY IMAGES 35/50 West Ham 1 Liverpool 2 Jordan Henderson clashes with Matthew Taylor GETTY IMAGES 36/50 West Ham 1 Liverpool 2 Luis Suarez hits a free kick over the bar GETTY IMAGES 37/50 Liverpool 4 Tottenham 0 Daniel Sturridge congratulates Jordan Henderson after the midfielder's goal GETTY IMAGES 38/50 Liverpool 4 Tottenham 0 Philippe Coutinho fires in Liverpool's third GETTY IMAGES 39/50 Liverpool 4 Tottenham 0 Brendan Rodgers looks on from the touchline GETTY IMAGES 40/50 Liverpool 4 Tottenham 0 Luis Suarez of Liverpool celebrates the second goal against Tottenham GETTY IMAGES 41/50 Liverpool 4 Tottenham 0 Younes Kaboul scores an own goal in the second minute GETTY IMAGES 42/50 Liverpool 2 Sunderland 1 Steven Gerrard celebrates with Jordan Henderson after opening the scoring Getty Images 43/50 Liverpool 2 Sunderland 1 Luis Suarez goes to ground after a clash with Lee Cattermole AP 44/50 Liverpool 2 Sunderland 1 Ki Sung-Yueng pulled a goal back late on AP 45/50 Liverpool 2 Sunderland 1 Jordan Henderson celebrates with goalscorer Sturridge Getty Images 46/50 Liverpool 2 Sunderland 1 Daniel Sturridge doubled Liverpool's lead via a deflection off Wes Brown Getty Images 47/50 Liverpool 2 Sunderland 1 Vito Mannone gets a hand to Gerrard's strike but is unable to keep it out Getty Images 48/50 Liverpool 2 Sunderland 1 Steven Gerrard gave Liverpool the lead with a free-kick Getty Images 49/50 Cardiff 3 Liverpool 6 Luis Suarez celebrates after completing his hat trick GETTY IMAGES 50/50 Cardiff 3 Liverpool 6 Daniel Sturridge scores Liverpool's fifth of the afternoon GETTY IMAGES 1/50 Crystal Palace 3 Liverpool 3 Steven Gerrard shepherds Luis Suarez from the field as he cries at the end of the 3-3 draw with Crystal Palace AFP/Getty 2/50 Crystal Palace 3 Liverpool 3 Martin Skrtel reacts after the 3-3 draw between Liverpool and Crystal Palace Getty Images 3/50 Crystal Palace 3 Liverpool 3 Luis Suarez adds a third immediately after Sturridge's goal, giving Liverpool a seemingly unassailable 3-0 lead Getty Images 4/50 Crystal Palace 3 Liverpool 3 Daniel Sturridge doubles Liverpool's lead as his deflected effort beat Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni Getty Images 5/50 Crystal Palace 3 Liverpool 3 Joe Allen heads Liverpool into the lead as he converts a first-half corner Getty Images 6/50 Liverpool 0 Chelsea 2 Willian has the simplest of finishes to make it 2-0 for Chelsea GETTY IMAGES 7/50 Liverpool 0 Chelsea 2 Demba Ba celebrates his goal GETTY IMAGES 8/50 Liverpool 0 Chelsea 2 Demba Ba scores for Chelsea after Steven Gerrard's slip GETTY IMAGES 9/50 Liverpool 0 Chelsea 2 Steven Gerard and Jon Flanagan try to retrieve the ball from Jose Mourinho GETTY IMAGES 10/50 Liverpool 0 Chelsea 2 Tomas Kalas, on his Premier League debut, tackles Raheen Sterling GETTY IMAGES 11/50 Norwich 2 Liverpool 3 New Norwich manager Neil Adams salutes the crowd prior to kick-off GETTY IMAGES 12/50 Norwich 2 Liverpool 3 Raheem Sterling fires Liverpool into an early lead at Carrow Road GETTY IMAGES 13/50 Norwich 2 Liverpool 3 Raheem Sterling celebrates his opener with manager Brendan Rodgers 14/50 Norwich 2 Liverpool 3 Luis Suarez scores against Norwich in Liverpool's 3-2 win GETTY IMAGES 15/50 Norwich 2 Liverpool 3 Raheem Sterling and Luis Suarez celebrate during Liverpool's game with Norwich GETTY IMAGES 16/50 Norwich 2 Liverpool 3 Raheem Sterling is challenged 17/50 Norwich 2 Liverpool 3 Gary Hooper pulls a goal back for Norwich after a mistake by Simon Mignolet GETTY IMAGES 18/50 Norwich 2 Liverpool 3 Joe Allen challenges Robert Snodgrass for the ball GETTY IMAGES 19/50 Norwich 2 Liverpool 3 Raheem Sterling's shot deflects off Bradley Johnson and over John Ruddy to put Liverpool 3-1 ahead GETTY IMAGES 20/50 Norwich 2 Liverpool 3 Robert Snodgrass sets up a thrilling finale by heading a second Norwich goal GETTY IMAGES 21/50 Norwich 2 Liverpool 3 Liverpool players rush to celebrate with captain Steven Gerrard at the final whistle GETTY IMAGES 22/50 Liverpool 3 Manchester City 2 Philippe Coutinho fires in Liverpool's winner 23/50 Liverpool 3 Manchester City 2 David Silva pulls one back for Manchester City 24/50 Liverpool 3 Manchester City 2 Martin Skrtel heads in Liverpool's second 25/50 Liverpool 3 Manchester City 2 Raheem Sterling celebrates his opening goal with Luis Suarez 26/50 West Ham 1 Liverpool 2 Steven Gerard leads Liverpool's celebration after scoring his second penalty of the afternoon GETTY IMAGES 27/50 West Ham 1 Liverpool 2 Adrian appears to win the ball but brings down Jon Flanagan too and referee Anthony Taylor awards Liverpool their second penalty GETTY IMAGES 28/50 West Ham 1 Liverpool 2 Steven Gerard tries to chase down Mohamed Diame GETTY IMAGES 29/50 West Ham 1 Liverpool 2 Raheem Sterling and Pablo Armero compete for the ball GETTY IMAGES 30/50 West Ham 1 Liverpool 2 Liverpool players protest against Guy Demel's equaliser after Andy Carroll appeared to foul goalkeeper Simon Mignolet GETTY IMAGES 31/50 West Ham 1 Liverpool 2 Steven Gerard celebrates after scoring his penalty GETTY IMAGES 32/50 West Ham 1 Liverpool 2 Steven Gerard makes no mistake from the spot to put Liverpool ahead GETTY IMAGES 33/50 West Ham 1 Liverpool 2 Luis Suarez forces James Tomkins into a hand ball and giving away a penalty GETTY IMAGES 34/50 West Ham 1 Liverpool 2 Luis Suarez's chipped effort hits the bar GETTY IMAGES 35/50 West Ham 1 Liverpool 2 Jordan Henderson clashes with Matthew Taylor GETTY IMAGES 36/50 West Ham 1 Liverpool 2 Luis Suarez hits a free kick over the bar GETTY IMAGES 37/50 Liverpool 4 Tottenham 0 Daniel Sturridge congratulates Jordan Henderson after the midfielder's goal GETTY IMAGES 38/50 Liverpool 4 Tottenham 0 Philippe Coutinho fires in Liverpool's third GETTY IMAGES 39/50 Liverpool 4 Tottenham 0 Brendan Rodgers looks on from the touchline GETTY IMAGES 40/50 Liverpool 4 Tottenham 0 Luis Suarez of Liverpool celebrates the second goal against Tottenham GETTY IMAGES 41/50 Liverpool 4 Tottenham 0 Younes Kaboul scores an own goal in the second minute GETTY IMAGES 42/50 Liverpool 2 Sunderland 1 Steven Gerrard celebrates with Jordan Henderson after opening the scoring Getty Images 43/50 Liverpool 2 Sunderland 1 Luis Suarez goes to ground after a clash with Lee Cattermole AP 44/50 Liverpool 2 Sunderland 1 Ki Sung-Yueng pulled a goal back late on AP 45/50 Liverpool 2 Sunderland 1 Jordan Henderson celebrates with goalscorer Sturridge Getty Images 46/50 Liverpool 2 Sunderland 1 Daniel Sturridge doubled Liverpool's lead via a deflection off Wes Brown Getty Images 47/50 Liverpool 2 Sunderland 1 Vito Mannone gets a hand to Gerrard's strike but is unable to keep it out Getty Images 48/50 Liverpool 2 Sunderland 1 Steven Gerrard gave Liverpool the lead with a free-kick Getty Images 49/50 Cardiff 3 Liverpool 6 Luis Suarez celebrates after completing his hat trick GETTY IMAGES 50/50 Cardiff 3 Liverpool 6 Daniel Sturridge scores Liverpool's fifth of the afternoon GETTY IMAGES

And Henry confirmed his belief that they were in a position to reject the approach as “apparently these contacts don’t seem to hold”, despite the view that it was a breach of contract or as Suarez put it at the time the club had reneged on their word.

Speaking at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference over the weekend, Henry also said in a filmed panel discussion that Liverpool will qualify for the Champions League and have an outsiders chance of winning the Premier League this season.

“Luis Suarez is the top scorer in the English Premier League which is arguably the top soccer league in the world,” said Henry.

“And he had a buy-out clause - I don't know what degree I should go into this - but he had a buy-out clause of £40million - more than 60 million (US) dollars. So Arsenal, one of our prime rivals this year ... they offered £40million and one pound for him and triggered his buy-out clause.

“But what we've found over the years is that contracts don't seem to mean a lot in England - actually not in England, in world football. It doesn't matter how long a player's contract is, he can decide he's leaving.

“We sold Fernando Torres for £50million. We didn't want to sell but we were forced to.

“For the first time (with Suarez) we took the position that we weren't selling.

“Since apparently these contracts don't seem to hold, we took the position we're just not selling and it's been great for Luis, it's been great for us, and what will happen at the end of year ... I think we’re going to make Champions League and we have a small chance of winning the Premier League this year.

“We have three gentlemen up front: Suarez, (Raheem) Sterling and (Daniel) Sturridge. Those three are young, and I think Luis and those three could be together for a long time.”

Liverpool experienced their own release clause heartache in the January transfer window, when their pursuit of Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk winger Yevhen Konoplyanka looked to be edging towards a £15m transfer, only to fall at the last hurdle as confusion spread over an apparent release clause in his contract.

The Reds were also interested in Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa last summer, when the Brazilian-born Spanish international had a £27m release clause of his own. Despite reports that the Premier League club activated that fee, Costa chose to remain with the La Liga title contenders and has since signed a new deal of his own, with an inflated release clause believed to be in the region of £32m.

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