Luis Suárez price tag at £50m-plus as Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers plays hardball with Arsenal

Liverpool will demand from Arsenal a fee of more than £50 million for Luis Suárez after manager Brendan Rodgers dismissed their £40 million bid as “nowhere near” the player’s value.

In the spotlight: Liverpool's sought-after striker Luis Suárez waves to the crowd after the match against Melbourne Victory Photo:

Rodgers, who insisted there is no £40 million buyout clause in Suárez’s contract, warned Arsenal that they must raise their offer for the Uruguayan significantly and quickly if they want to sign him.

Suárez and Arsenal are confident their last offer – worth £40 million and one pound – triggers his sale, according to an agreement he has with Liverpool. Despite having previously stated a desire to leave the Premier League and join Real Madrid, Suárez is keen hold talks with the London club.

The Liverpool manager, increasingly exasperated by the transfer saga, conceded his forward “may want to leave” but warned him to “keep his professionalism”.

Rodgers’s blunt comments risked escalating tensions between Arsenal and Liverpool still further after an extraordinary tweet from American-based Liverpool owner John W Henry which appeared to imply Arsenal executives may have been taking illegal drugs.

“What do you think they are smoking over there at Emirates?”, he wrote in a comment which was posted at around 2am Boston time.