In response to a fan calling him a hypocrite regarding his views on players moving to Saudi Arabia, Jamie Carragher, the former Liverpool player and pundit, has fired back.
Notably, Cristiano Ronaldo made headlines in January when he became the first prominent player to leave European football for the Saudi Professional League by joining Al Nassr.
Since then, Saudi Arabia has been making substantial financial investments to attract some of football’s biggest stars to the country.
Karim Benzema, Roberto Firmino, and N’Golo Kante are among the players who have already signed with Saudi Arabian clubs.
Recently, rumors have surfaced linking Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson and Fabinho to potential moves to the Saudi Professional League.
Following the recent developments of Al Ettifaq, managed by Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard, reportedly offering to quadruple Jordan Henderson’s Liverpool salary, and Al Ittihad showing interest in Fabinho, fans on social media have criticized Jamie Carragher, labeling him a hypocrite for his stance on players moving to Saudi Arabia.
It seems that fans have questioned Carragher’s consistency in expressing his views regarding footballers’ decisions to join clubs in Saudi Arabia, highlighting potential contradictions in his opinions.
This has sparked discussions and debates on social media platforms.
After being accused of shying away from speaking about Saudi Arabia due to their interest in Henderson and Fabinho, Carragher fired back, he wrote: “What is the hypocrisy??!! I’ve not been critical of any individual for going there for money.”
“My original tweet was about Saudi trying to take over football, how it stops I don’t know as nobody is turning the money down.
“But when players in their prime are going & missing out on CL/European football that for me is a big problem for football.”
What is the hypocrisy??!!
I’ve not been critical of any individual for going there for money.
My original tweet was about Saudi trying to take over football, how it stops I don’t know as nobody is turning the money down.
But when players in their prime are going & missing out… https://t.co/1TpqhArUxG— Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) July 13, 2023
Carragher also gave his views on Liverpool potentially losing two key members of the squad.
He tweeted: “The club have got two midfielders in while they are trying to sign a third.
“These bids for Henderson/Fabinho will have come out of the blue. The 5 players they may lose are all players the fans have wanted rid of!!”
So far, Liverpool have brought in Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai to strengthen their midfield department after losing Naby Keita, James Milner and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain at the end of the 22/23 season.
The Reds have also been linked with Southampton’s highly-rated midfielder Romeo Lavia, who could be the long-term replacement for the likes of Henderson and Fabinho if they decide to leave Anfield.
Do you think Henderson will Liverpool this summer? Let us know in the comments.