Luis Suarez has said he cannot understand why he has not been included on FIFA's list of contenders for the Ballon d'Or.
The Barcelona striker has been left off the 23-man shortlist despite being voted the Premier League's Player of the Year for his performances at Liverpool last season, when his 31 league goals saw him share the Golden Shoe with Cristiano Ronaldo.
It has been widely concluded that his bite on Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini is the reason for his omission, but he told Catalan station Rac 1: "They had already said to me that they had chosen me as the best player in the most difficult league in the world, or one of the most difficult, so it jumps out.
"I was also the leading scorer in the European leagues. But I prefer to stay quiet about these things, because every time I speak it can be a problem."
He said he feared the bite had destroyed his chances of joining Barcelona, explaining: "When Pere [Guardiola, his agent] called me to say I had signed for Barca, I could not believe it -- I started to cry.
"I thought that it had all been broken after the Chiellini stuff. The club made a big effort for me, which I will value all my life."
The 27-year-old said there had been "conversations" with other clubs before the move to the Camp Nou went through, but he has only played twice for his new employers because of the four-month ban that followed the bite.
Barcelona have lost both -- a 3-1 clasico defeat at Real Madrid and Saturday's 0-1 home defeat to Celta Vigo -- and Suarez said: "It is a bit surprising to play two games and lose them both. Obviously it makes you feel bad, and it is more difficult to sleep when you lose, but we must forget that now.
"Not winning is annoying, above all playing at home. We created chances against Celta. It is difficult to take the defeat, but the responsibility is for everyone, not because [Lionel] Messi, Neymar and Suarez are there.
"When the ball does not want to go in, it will not go in. You must also take the conclusion that I prefer for this to happen now than in April, when the league is decided."
He said that, on his debut at the Bernabeu, he had "felt good on the ball but was lost tactically -- I did not link up well. I have been working to improve that."
And he added that he had quickly built a good relationship with Argentina internationals Messi and Javier Mascherano, explaining: "The cultures of Argentina and Uruguay are similar."