Luis Suarez explains why he had to join Barcelona

Luis Suarez says he had to leave Liverpool for Barcelona to keep growing as a player.

The striker spoke to his former team-mate Jamie Carragher in an interview for the Daily Mail.

Asked about leaving, he said: "It was a dream to arrive at Liverpool but I never wanted to just settle for what I had achieved. I wanted more. 

"I played for Liverpool alongside Stevie (Steven Gerrard) and you and that was incredible but then I went on to have a lot more responsibility and even bigger clubs were interested in me. My attitude was always to keep growing as a player."

Now he says he's having more fun, playing with the Catalan giants. Suarez feels less onus to be the man to make the difference. 

He explained: "I’d have to say I enjoy myself a lot more, really. I don’t feel so much responsibility as I did in other teams. 

"It felt sometimes at Ajax and Liverpool that it had to be me. Now, every time I go out on to the pitch, I enjoy myself and laugh. 

"I have gone through too many difficult times in my career and I don’t want to keep thinking about them."