The Spanish goalkeeper said that he would understand if Suarez departed Anfield but hopes that he stays put despite the ongoing saga at the club.

Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina remains hopeful that Luis Suarez could yet remain with the club.

Suarez, the club’s leading scorer with 30 goals in all competitions last season before a ban for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic, recently told Uruguayan radio that the English press has driven him to the point where he wants to play elsewhere, with Real Madrid rumoured to be lining up a move.

However, although Reina acknowledges his team-mate could well be tempted to leave Anfield should a top club come calling, he has not given up hope of the Uruguayan opting to prolong his spell in the Premier League.

“I haven’t read Luis himself say he wants out of Liverpool to be honest,” Reina told reporters prior to Spain’s friendly with Haiti.” He might say that the times have been a little bit rough and the media has been having a bit of a go at him. In the past it’s been difficult for him and his family.

“To be honest, I would like for Luis to stay at Liverpool, but I understand if he’s thinking about leaving for something bigger – when I say bigger I mean not as a club, just challenging for titles and playing in the Champions League and competing with the best. Because of the situation, because of the treatment by the media, it would be difficult for any player, not just Luis, to stay strong and be happy.

“Hopefully he will stay at Liverpool for many years, but I understand if the right offer comes for him and for the club for him to go.”

Chelsea striker Fernando Torres, who has dealt with media pressure of a different kind during his dip in form with the Blues, admitted that such attention from the press can be difficult to manage but insisted Suarez has the professionalism to cope.

“I never had a problem with the media, the media had a problem with me,” Torres said. “That affects your family, your friends… it’s not easy.

“I know Luis, he is strong enough to play football despite all the rumors and all the talks. But it’s not easy. Sometimes he might think it’s just better to forget about that and move away, but it’s his decision.”

The club’s managing director urges fans to be patience in their bid for a return to Europe’s biggest club competition, with time still needed to rebuild Brendan Rodgers’s side

Liverpool’s return to the Champions League could take as long as three seasons, according to managing director Ian Ayre.

The Reds have failed to qualify for Europe’s top competition since their second-place Premier League finish in 2008-09 but Ayre feels that it could take time for Brendan Rodgers to reshape the club enough to reach the elite again.

“The expectation is to keep progressing and, of course, our ambition is to play in the Champions League,” he told reporters.

“This football club is steeped in the tradition of the European Cup. That’s where everyone wants to be from the owners down.

“Our ambition is to get there. Whether we do that in one year, two years or three, we will see. That’s where Liverpool should be.”

After swapping Kenny Dalglish for Rodgers, the Reds improved to finish seventh in 2012-13 and Ayre urged continued patience from fans following a significant shift in playing style.

“We made a big change a year ago with the ambition of getting Liverpool back where they should be at the top of football,” he added. “We changed the manager, we changed the style of play and we changed some players. We said we wanted to build something here.

“Rome was not built in a day. If you could do it in one day, then everybody would do it.”

Having announced that they would not build a new stadium in Stanley Park in October, the Reds are now attempting to acquire the property around the stadium that would be affected

Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre has confirmed that the club expect to be in a position to submit a planning application for the redevelopment of Anfield this summer.

The Reds must acquire the properties around Anfield that would be affected by the expansion before they can send off planning proposals but Ayre says significant progress has been made in that regard.

In October, Liverpool announced that they would redevelop the Main and Anfield Road stands rather than move to a new stadium in Stanley Park.

“We are in an interesting period in terms of our aspirations around the stadium,” Ayre told the Liverpool Echo. “Our goal is to extend Anfield. But we need certainty and that comes with the acquisition of properties. Real progress has been made in acquiring them.

“Once they have all been acquired we will go through the planning process. We would expect to be in a position to make that a certainty this summer.

“Once planning has been achieved then we can start construction.”

The 50-year-old believes the redevelopment of Anfield is crucial for the club if it hopes to compete financially with Europe’s elite clubs.

“There are three core revenue streams – media, commercial and matchday,” he explained. “Our media and commercial revenues are very impressive but where we fall behind is our match day revenues.

“Having a bigger stadium and playing in the Champions League are two mechanisms which would dramatically change our fortunes.

“We’re determined to press on with the stadium solution. It’s in the hands of other people but hopefully we will get there and deliver what our fans want.”