Luis Suarez was presented with the Golden Boot this evening in Barcelona. Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish handed over the gong at the ceremony, which honours the previous season's leading goalscorer in league football in Europe.
Suarez won the award for his 31 goals for Liverpool last season - the same number co-winner Cristiano Ronaldo netted at Real Madrid.
According to Sky Sports, Suarez requested that Dalglish present him with the award, in recognition of the fact that the Scot signed him for Liverpool. Dalglish never won a Golden Boot himself - his contemporary Ian Rush has previously been the only Liverpool striker to do so.
The pair weren't the only Reds legends to make an appearance on the night - Steven Gerrard popped in via a video message to offer his congratulations to the Uruguayan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F09yzfZAUXM
Suarez will make his competitive debut for Barcelona against Real Madrid in ten days' time, when his four-month ban comes to an end.
Speaking at the ceremony, Suarez said he feels "100 per cent ready to play" in the Clasico. He went on to speak fondly of his time on Merseyside. He said:
I want to thank all the most important people in my life, my wife and my children.
And of course everyone at Liverpool - all my colleagues, not just last year but over the whole three-and-a-half years I was at the club.
They were spectacular years and it was thanks to this man here (Dalglish) that they signed me, that they noticed me.
Now I am moving on to a new period, and I have to enjoy this next stage of my life - it is a dream come true.
On a personal and individual level it is always welcome to win these titles.
But you would not win them if it was not for the whole of the team and for your colleagues and for the joint effort that everyone makes every day to achieve results.
