"He says something before the game and does it afterwards" - Real Madrid's Rodrygo takes cheeky dig at Liverpool superstar with Cristiano Ronaldo claim
Real Madrid winger Rodrygo has taken a dig at Liverpool's Mohamed Salah after his team's UEFA Champions League final win, making a reference to Cristiano Ronaldo. He also claimed that Los Blancos' opponents 'open their mouths' before a game, while the team do not.
After the 2022 Champions League final was set between Liverpool and Real Madrid, Salah expressed his desire for revenge. That was in reference to the 2018 Champions League final, which the Reds lost 3-1. The Egyptian was subbed off in that game due to an elbow injury after clashing with Sergio Ramos.
Salah had said (via Caught Offside):
“Yeah, we lost in the final (in 2018); it was a sad day for all of us but, yeah, I think it’s revenge time.”
He also tweeted:
"We have a score to settle."
We have a score to settle. https://t.co/MWxfhIIW78
However, the Egyptian ended up on the losing side once again, as Real Madrid beat Liverpool 1-0 to win a record-extending 14th Champions League title. Rodrygo took a dig at Salah on the Pohpah podcast:
“In fact, you have to be like Cristiano Ronaldo. He says something before the game and does it afterwards. At Real, nobody does that at the moment. It's mostly our opponents who open their mouths before a game."
Ronaldo is known for his confidence and ability to back that up on the pitch. One of the biggest examples of that was when the Portuguese played for Juventus. The Bianconeri trailed Atletico Madrid 2-0 after the first leg in the Round of 16 in the 2018-19 UEFA Champions League.
Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in the second leg to take the Italian giants through to the next round. Later, his former Manchester United teammate Patrice Evra shared a post revealing his Whatsapp chat with the Portuguese. The all-time top-scorer (140) will miss the competition next season for the first time in two decades, as United only finished sixth.
Ronaldo had claimed that Juventus would go through, and the former backed it up on the pitch.
Patrice Evra has posted the WhatsApp chat between Cristiano Ronaldo and himself before Juventus’ game against Atlético.
The confidence and self-belief. 💪 https://t.co/T0Rh9Eamx7
A look back at Real Madrid's Champions League triumph over Liverpool
Real Madrid came into the final on May 28 at the Stade de France in Paris after a gruelling run. They beat Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), Chelsea and Manchester City en route to the 2022 UEFA Champions League final, recovering first-leg deficits in two ties.
Liverpool, meanwhile, beat Inter Milan, Benfica and Villarreal to reach their third final in five years. Many considered the Reds to be the favourites, as they were perceived to have the better squad. However, Real Madrid capitalised on mistakes from both Reds full-backs to win their 14th title.
Luka Modric dragged Andy Robertson out of position to initiate play towards Federico Valverde. He put in a low cross across the Reds box for Vinicius Jr. to finish as Trent Alexander-Arnold was caught ball watching.
Manager Jurgen Klopp's men tried hard to muster a response, but 'Player of the Match' Thibaut Courtois made nine saves to thwart them.