Gerrard hails Luis Suarez as his best ever team-mate

Gerrard's LA Galaxy side play their first match in the International Champions Cup friendly competition on Tuesday (Wednesday 4am BST) against Barcelona which will see the former Liverpool team-mates come together.

The match in Pasadena will be a chance for the pair to catch up, with Gerrard leaving Liverpool after 17 years at the end of last term to move to Los Angeles.

And ahead of the game, Gerrard praised Suarez in an interview published on Barcelona's website.

'I don't think anyone ever looks forward to playing against Luis Suarez, he is a fantastic talent and a very dangerous player,' Gerrard said.

'He is a fantastic team mate, probably the best player I have played with,' he added.

'He's a good guy, a family man away from the pitch, we keep in touch and have supported each other throughout our careers.'

Suarez is determined to begin the season on the front foot with Barca after making a slow start in the opening few weeks at the Nou Camp last season.

The Uruguay striker struggled to get into his stride after his ban for biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup expired in October.

Suarez joined the Catalan club from Liverpool last July but was unable to play the first three months of the campaign after he was sanctioned for sinking his teeth into Chiellini's shoulder at the tournament in Brazil.

After a slow start following his Barca debut in the La Liga 'Clasico' against Real Madrid, he started to come into top form around the turn of the year and was a key performer alongside strike partners Lionel Messi and Neymar as Barca romped to a treble of Champions League and Spanish league and Cup titles.

'For the first few matches I was lacking rhythm,' Suarez told reporters after a training session on Barca's pre-season tour of the United States.

'That's what pre-seasons are for, to work and try to contribute from the start,' added the 28-year-old.

'This year, starting at the same pace as my team mates, it will be different.' 

(dailymail.co.uk)