Ahead of this year’s Champions League final, Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah expressed his desire to play against Real in the finals, and not Manchester City. It was somewhat a normal reaction from a player who already played against Benzema and the boys in the finals four seasons ago, and lost the game. “I prefer Real Madrid. We lost in the final against them, so I want to play and beat them” he said at the time. Nothing more, nothing less, and it didn’t look offensive in any way. But, for some reason, Real players used that sentence to motivate themselves, stating that the Egyptian disrespected the Real Madrid badge and it’s players. And now, nearly a month after the Champions League final, some players are still talking about it.Salah would swap his rewards for the rematch with RealBrazilian Rodrygo was the man of the match in the semifinals against Manchester City. His two dramatic late goals forced extra time at the Bernabeu when all hope appeared lost, but Real was victorious at the end. According to Brazil Football, Rodrygo revealed that his teammates used Salah’s ’disrespectful’ comments on the training pitch.“When a guy provokes, sometimes you just want to win so you can make fun of them. In training we used to say ‘come Salah, come Salah’… In our head it was already ‘we have to win to then make fun of Salah'” said the Brazilian.🎙RODRYGO: “When a guy provokes, sometimes you just want to win so you can make fun of them. In training we used to say ‘come Salah, come Salah’… In our head it was already ‘we have to win to then make fun of Salah’.”😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/H474fOYBt6— Brasil Football 🇧🇷 (@BrasilEdition) June 17, 2022 Salah’s words didn’t stick with former Barcelona player Thierry Henry. Arsenal’s legend and now a TV pundit also thought that Liverpool’s forward should have been quiet before the final.„We have said it so many times, it’s about putting the ball into the back of the net. They have one on target and they score. Liverpool had a lot. But they faced Thibaut Courtois. He’s one of the best keepers in the world and better than Ederson. I always say something, don’t talk before a final. Beat Real Madrid, then talk and say, ‘it was revenge and all of that’. When you talk before a final, you have to win it” explained Henry after the game.14.30: (10.0) Fulham (5.70) Liverpool (1.33)Mohamed Salah was obviously very disappointed in the end, and talked about this final later on, when he got the Premier League Fans’ Player of the Year award.„I cannot stress enough how much we wanted to bring that trophy back to Liverpool, but in the end we just couldn’t. I can’t thank the fans enough for their support. It’s been a long season, but part of me wants it to come back” said Salah on his Twitter account.
