Luis Suarez: Six years ago he became the ‘Cannibal of Ajax’, today he is one of the favourites for the Ballon d’Or

SIX years ago today, Luis Suarez was branded a savage and an animal after biting an opposition player during a league game in Holland.

Today, the Barcelona superstar is in the running to win the Ballon d'Or, the elite competition that crowns the undisputed best player in the world.

It's certainly been some journey.

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Back on November 24, 2010, Suarez, who was captain of Ajax at the time, was involved in an argument with PSV's Otman Bakkal.

The PSV man stood on Suarez's foot, that prompted the Uruguay hitman to bite Bakkal on the shoulder.

The incident was missed by the referee, but the Dutch FA knew they had to act - and Suarez was banned for seven games.

All for an over-the-top reaction during a 0-0 draw.

It proved to be Suarez's last appearance at Ajax, but not before the Dutch press had already labelled him the "Cannibal of Ajax".

He was shipped out to Liverpool for £22.8m in late January 2011, while still under suspension. But his signing was overshadowed by Andy Carroll making a £35m switch from Newcastle at the same time.

It's incredible to see how their careers have differed since.

Sadly for Liverpool, it appeared Suarez's vampire-streak had not been left behind in Holland, although some respite was that his goalscoring also came with him.

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On April 21, 2013, Liverpool were trailing Chelsea 2-1 in a Premier League clash, and were trying by any means necessary to get back into the game.

Within the laws of the game, obviously.

This however seemed to have bypassed Suarez, and he once again went into Dracula mode - and Branislav Ivanovic was the victim.

As the players awaited a Steven Gerrard ball into the box, Suarez leant forward and bit the Chelsea defender on the arm.

Again, the incident was missed by the referee, and to add salt to the London side's wounds, Suarez went on to bag a 97th minute equaliser.

But just like in Holland less than two years previous, the FA decided to act, and as it was his second such offence, he was handed a 10-game ban.

Surely now he had learnt this behaviour would never be tolerated on a football pitch?

Seemingly not.

Just over a year later, and it was unlucky number three for Suarez as he sank those infamous gnashers into Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini's shoulder during Uruguay's World Cup Group D clash.

The football world was staggered - how could someone be so foolish to carry out the same offence again?

Suarez was banned from playing the game he loved for four months.

He then moved to Barcelona, and we all know what a success he has been at the Nou Camp (point of note - his contract includes a no-biting clause).

So the question remains, why does a footballer with obvious superb talents on the pitch, have to resort to such animalistic behaviour.

The simple answer is that Suarez a winner. The more complex angle is to look at how this manifests into biting an opponent.

It's difficult to work out why he bit his first "victim", Otman Bakkal, other than he was angry. He later said that "at times like that you play with your heart and you do not think" in a video released to Ajax fans.

A heart that urges Suarez to do everything possible to keep one step ahead of his opponents, to gain any advantage possible.

On the Ivanovic incident, Suarez writes in his book Crossing The Line: My Story: "With Ivanovic in 2013, we had to beat Chelsea still to have any chance of making it into the Champions League.

"I was having a terrible game. I gave away a stupid penalty with a handball and I could feel everything slipping through our fingers. I could feel myself getting wound up."

He maintains he was "provoked" by Ivanovic. But in truth, he was more "provoked" by the thought of being on the losing side, and importantly, being to blame for it.

Suarez knows what he is doing on these occasions, let's not get too tied up with the "heat of the moment" line.

In the Liverpool versus Chelsea clash, Gerrard hadn't even made contact with the ball to cross it in before Suarez sank his teeth into Ivanovic.

The Chelsea man was not grappling with him, if anything his marking at the time was slack. All Suarez was thinking was how could he ensure he was in the best possible place to score. And that would have been with Ivanovic out of the game.

And with all eyes on Gerrard as he attempted to square the ball into the box, Suarez will have known full well the match officials' eyes were not trained on him.

It's that desperate urge to win, to be heralded a hero. Suarez isn't bothered in the steps it takes to get there.

The Chiellini bite reflects the emotions Suarez felt with the Ivanovic incident.

He was raging that he had been denied by Italy keeper Gianluigi Buffon with a great chance to score the opener.

And we all know how this anger, mixed with a desire to win, shows itself.

As Uruguay mounted an attack, Suarez leant into Chiellini's left shoulder and sank his teeth into the Italian's flesh.

Chiellini couldn't believe it, and appeared in a state of shock, before pulling down his shirt and showing the teeth marks.

Suarez, meanwhile, played up to the pantomime villain perfectly, incredulously sinking to the turf holding his teeth, as if he was the afflicted party.

Writing in his book, Suarez says: "Moments before the Chiellini bite, I had a great chance to put us 1-0 up. If I had scored that goal, if Buffon hadn’t made the save, then I would not have done anything. But I missed the chance.

"When the heart has stopped racing after the game, it’s easy to look back and say, “How could you be so stupid? There were 20 minutes left.”

"But out on the pitch with the adrenaline pumping and the tension mounting, you’re not even really aware of how long is left.

"You don’t know anything. All I could think was: “I didn’t score. We’re out of the World Cup."

And that sums Suarez up. In his head, he was at fault for the 0-0 scoreline, and he had to rectify the situation, by any means possible.

The ball was away from him, the officials were otherwise engaged, and the Uruguayan striker saw his chance to get Chiellini off his back.

Suarez and Barcelona are a perfect match. The Catalan giants are used to winning, and the desperation and responsibility Suarez may have shouldered at other clubs can be shared around the other world class players.

And that's one of the reasons why he is where he is now.

This week, his former boss at Liverpool and now Celtic manager Brendan Rogers told Sky Sports that Suarez should win the Ballon d'Or.

"If you're talking about the Ballon d'Or and the last year then I don't think there's been any player better than Luis Suarez.

"In terms of that award, I think he would be very deserving of it in terms of how he's played, what he's given the team, how he's carried the team and the level that he's played at consistently."

From the "Cannibal of Ajax" to the big league at Barca, it's been some journey for the 29-year-old from Salto, Uruguay.

And still it goes on.