EX-Liverpool “striker” El Hadji Diouf has hit out at former team-mate and current club captain Steven Gerrard. In an interview with French sports newspaper l’Equipe, the current Leeds forward branded the England captain “egotistical” and claimed that “nobody can stand him” at the Merseyside club.
Diouf is widely regarded to have been one of Gerard Houllier’s biggest transfer clangers during his spell in charge at Anfield, as opposed to Gerrard, who is now regarded by many as Liverpool’s greatest ever player.
There has never been any love lost between the two men and Gerrard openly criticised the former Senegal front-man in his 2007 autobiography.
“I wasn’t Diouf’s number one fan. Being around Melwood and Anfield I knew which players were hungry, which players had Liverpool at heart. Diouf was just interested in himself”, wrote Gerrard.
“His attitude was all wrong. I felt he wasn’t really a***d about putting his body on the line to get Liverpool back at the top.”
When asked about Gerrard, Diouf responded:
“What he said is only of interest to him. All I worried about was the Senegal team, I took them to the World Cup quarter-finals in 2002. I was in Pele’s 100 players of the century. Not him. I respect him as a footballer, but there is nobody more egotistical than him.
“He does not care about others. I spoke to the major figures at Liverpool and nobody can stand him. And I am not talking about Carragher.”
Diouf has become a hate figure for fans of most clubs during his time in English football, mostly down to his involvement in several unsavoury incidents. There were numerous spitting incidents during his time at Liverpool and Bolton, including at least one occasion where he appeared to spit on a fan, whilst at Blackburn, he infamously appeared to taunt QPR’s Jamie Mackie while the forward lay prone with a broken leg.
Speaking about his “bad boy” image Diouf scoffed:
“I have done things but others have done worse. I am an easy target, people talk about me no matter what. Okay, I have hurt people and I regret that. But I have never been to prison, I have never injured anyone on the pitch.
“After people gave me the ‘bad-boy’ image, I had to deal with it. Bad boy? It makes me laugh.
“It doesn’t bother me. I prefer that people talk about me, whether good or bad. I leave my mark wherever I go.”
There is, of course, a huge wedge of irony contained within Diouf’s tirade against Steven Gerrard and his further comments. With the minimum of scrutiny, it becomes clear that the Leeds Utd forward, and former Liverpool flop, does a good job of backing up the current Liverpool captain’s earlier, written assessment of him . Exactly why Diouf has spoken out now seems unclear but he may be wiser to concentrate on his current club and leave his Liverpool past where it belongs – buried.
You can catch up with Neil on Twitter @Neil1980 or on his blog http://itsallinthegameblog.wordpress.com/
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diouf is the biggest disgrace ever to have represented liverpool . i still cringe with embarrassment when i think we let him play for us , it was houilliers worst mistake and that 10m wasted ( and sticking with diouf )probably cost him his job .
right from the start he has a horrible attitude , proclaiming he was going to be the best player in the world . he never gave 100% . from his ridiculous idiotic haircuts , to his diving ( way more than suarez ever did ) , to his spitting and snarling all over the pitch, he embarrased me .
diouf is a stain on liverpools history , i wish could be removed . as a player – a useless waste of money . as a man – disgusting . he is the only liverpool player i have ever booed in 22 years going to anfield .
diouf is a disgrace and not fit to be even mentioned on the same page as our no.8
diouf is a cockroach
yes ill 2nd that