Big 500: Luis Suarez reaches impressive goalscoring milestone

Luis Suarez has reached 500 career goals for club and country after scoring Atletico Madrid's winner against Deportivo Alaves. The Uruguayan forward nodded in Kieran Trippier's cross with 54 minutes gone at the Wanda Metropolitano on Sunday to bring up a significant personal milestone.

Since starting his professional career with Nacional in his homeland and finding the back of the net on 12 occasions, Suarez has represented a further five clubs across Europe. He’s written an emotional letter in which he reminisced about his journey in football.

"It all started in Uruguay. When I made my professional debut with the team of my childhood dreams, I thought that nothing could be better than that. And then we won the league together. I was ready to take the next step, and moving to Europe at 19 was a big one. He couldn't have done it without the trust and support of the people of Groningen, both the club and the fans."

Surprisingly, Suarez scored more goals for Ajax than he did during his famous spell at Liverpool. The Uruguayan star netted 111 goals during his time in the Netherlands, while he found the back of the net 82 times during his stay at Anfield.

"Amsterdam made me who I am today. There was hardly a better place to learn and grow as a player. To have captained a club like Ajax is the greatest thing I have achieved in my career. And Liverpool? Liverpool was special. The connection with the fans inspired me to face the challenge of playing in such a competitive league."

The bulk of Suarez's goals came with Barcelona, where he provided 198 finishes while claiming four league titles and a Champions League crown.

"The incredible city of Barcelona welcomed me with open arms. I was able to play with the best players in the world and conquer Europe. What more could ask? Now Madrid, enjoying and fighting for this club. I want to score many more goals here and hopefully, the fans will come back soon so we can celebrate together."

Internationally, Suarez has fired 63 goals for his country, while he has also scored 15 for Groningen and 12 for Nacional. With a further 63 goals to his name for the Uruguay national team, the 34-year-old is now on 500 in the professional game.

"Besides all this, representing my country on the most important stages in the world has always been my greatest honour."

The 500 goals have come in just 794 appearances – a rate of a goal every 1.5 games.

Suarez is only the fifth active player to reach the 500-goal mark, where he has joined his former team-mate Messi, who sits second on the all-time leaderboard with 759 finishes. Cristiano Ronaldo currently leads all active scorers with 788 goals, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robert Lewandowski have also reached the 500-goal mark with 570 and 541 goals, respectively.

The Uruguayan’s goals have helped him win league titles in his homeland, the Netherlands and Spain, as well as the Champions League and Copa America. He is hoping to add another LaLiga title to his honours list this term, with Atleti leading both Barcelona and Real Madrid going into the final stages of the campaign.