Luis Suarez praised Darwin Nunez as a “very good kid” who will be “one of the best,” but warned his Uruguay teammate that they are competing for a starting spot.

Nunez demonstrated his “respect” for his elder ahead of the Copa America by vacating his No. 9 shirt for the legendary Uruguay striker.

Suarez has been reinstated to Marcelo Bielsa’s squad for the tournament in the United States, and he will wear his old number while the Liverpool forward wears No. 19.

 Suarez told AUFTV ahead of their opening match against Panama on June 24 that the gesture demonstrated the “greatness and humility” of a player he believes will become “one of the best.”

Suarez, who is 13 years Nunez’s senior and has followed a similar path as a prolific striker who courted controversy, acts as a mentor to him as a member of the Uruguay squad.

 He is now 37 years old and plays club football in the MLS for Inter Miami, alongside former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba.

But Suarez’s door is clearly always open for Nunez, and he compared their relationship to his own with Diego Forlan when he was breaking into the Uruguay squad.

“When Darwin visits, he asks me questions,” he explained.

“At the time [he debuted] yes, I was the starter, Edi [Cavani] was the starter, but he always came, asked, wanted to learn things and that is spectacular.”

Suarez continued: “Having him in front of me, seeing how he trains and plays each game, how can I not stop to applaud and celebrate?

“Yes, obviously I had my time, I enjoyed it a lot and I continue to do so.”

Nunez scored a hat-trick in Uruguay’s final warm-up friendly before the Copa America, a 4-0 thrashing of Mexico, bringing his total to eight goals and three assists in seven games since Bielsa took charge.