Real Madrid star Rodrygo Goes has claimed that Luka Modric mocked Mohamed Salah after Liverpool’s Champions League final loss in May.
Speaking to the Podpah podcast via ESPN Brazil, Rodrygo shared what Modric said to Salah as he collected his runners-up medal.
“When the game was over, the Real Madrid players made a runner, Liverpool went through,” said the 21-year-old.
“Salah was going through a little sad, head down, Modric looked at him and said, ‘Thanks, Salah, next time you try again’. I started laughing.”
Surprisingly disrespectful stuff from one of the games greats.
Salah’s pre-game words back-fire
It’s a shame to hear that even after so much success, Madrid and their players haven’t learnt how to win with some grace.
Of course, history is written by the winners, and everything is fair game when the stakes are so high. But this feels a little unnecessary really.
It also feels like a case of Salah’s pre-game words being cooked into something they weren’t intended to be.
As inadvisable as it was for Mo to talk of ‘revenge’ against Madrid pre-game, his words were intended solely as motivation. That seems to have been construed as disrespect by those with the Spanish champions’ squad.
As a result, it obviously served only to back-fire against Salah and Liverpool. With Modric and co extra motivated by a perceived slight from the Egyptian, they ran out 1-0 winners against a tired looking Liverpool.
Perhaps a lesson for Salah that the talking should only come after the final. No doubt Salah regrets his words, said with such conviction as they were, but that will only add to his desire to go one better next time.
Karma has a funny way of coming around in football, Madrid should be careful of talking too much. Motivation works both ways, and we know what Salah can do when he’s got a point to prove.
Head up, Mo, we go again next year!