LONDON: Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah called out a popular fan account on Wednesday for “disrespecting” former teammates Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez after a social media post mocked their close-season departures.
Salah took exception to a post on X featuring images of the departed duo in black-and-white over new signings Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak with the caption: “Name a bigger upgrade in footballing history.”
“How about we celebrate the great signings without disrespecting the PL (Premier League) champions?” Salah fired back on X, defending his fellow strikers who helped Liverpool claim their 20th league title.
The Anfield Edition site, which has more than half a million followers, quickly apologized.
“It wasn’t the intention to disrespect, more to highlight the incredible transfers this summer. But we’re sorry,” it posted with a picture of Salah on a throne.
The social media spat came after a summer of big-money moves that saw Colombian winger Diaz head to Bayern Munich for 75 million euros ($87.80 million), while Nunez joined Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal for a reported 53 million euros.
Liverpool then splashed the cash on replacements, signing Wirtz for 116 million pounds ($156.70 million) with add-ons before smashing the British transfer record to bring in Isak for 125 million pounds.
While Diaz made a significant contribution to Liverpool’s title triumph with 13 goals and seven assists from 36 games, Nunez struggled to make his mark, netting only five times in 30 games.
Though he remained popular at Anfield for his work rate, Nunez faced harsh mockery on social media for missed chances.
Last month, Salah also took to social media to criticize UEFA’s tribute to the late Suleiman Al-Obeid, known as the “Palestinian Pele,” after European soccer’s governing body failed to reference the circumstances surrounding his death.
“Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?” Salah wrote.
According to Obeid’s family, he was killed by an Israeli tank shell while queuing to collect food in Gaza.
