Luis Suarez did something ex-Liverpool star had never seen before at Reds

Former Liverpool defender Martin Kelly announced his retirement from the professional game on Friday with a lengthy and emotional retelling of his career

The one-time-capped English fullback appeared 62 times with the Reds from 2008 to 2014, a period where the club captured just a single trophy but remained highly competitive thanks to the 2011 January deadline-day arrival of Luis Suarez.

The mercurial Uruguayan — still playing with Inter Miami in the MLS — nearly led Liverpool to the 2013/14 Premier League title with a historic 31 goals in just 33 matches following a suspension to start the campaign. He also, according to Kelly, had a very interesting training routine.

He did something I’d never seen before,” Kelly told The Athletic. "He would play 90 minutes on a Saturday and then train on a Sunday with us lads who hadn’t featured....he didn’t want to just do recovery."

“I did a few sessions with him. We would do [a] one v one, first to eight goals in a penalty box with a goalkeeper. It was intense. The way I was brought up was: Don’t take a step back.

"At one point, we squared up to each other and he was laughing at me, saying: ‘Kelly, you’re crazy.’ I said: ‘Just stop kicking me. Why are you kicking me?’ He was always so game — that will to win.”

Suarez scored 82 goals in 133 matches for Liverpool but only captured one trophy. He left in the summer of 2014 for Barcelona, where, after serving another suspension, he helped the Spanish giants capture the treble.

Kelly made his debut for Liverpool in 2008, replacing fellow defender Jamie Carragher in a Champions League group match against PSV.

He was given a regular run in the team during the 2011/2012 campaign, particularly in the Europa League, and scored his lone goal for the Reds against Chelsea in the League Cup.

Kelly's strong play earned him a call-up to the English national team under coach Fabio Capello, and his sole cap — under three minutes — was the shortest in the nation's history. The defender was then named in Capello's squad for Euro 2012 after Gary Cahill pulled out with an injury.

Kelly was sold to Crystal Palace for £2 million in 2014. He featured 148 times for the Eagles through the 2022 campaign before joining West Brom on a free transfer.

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