Former Premier League adversaries Rio Ferdinand and Jamie Carragher have once again locked horns in a war of words after the former Manchester United and England star center-back has taken aim at the famous son of Merseyside regarding his stance surrounding the summer transfer dealings of the Roshn Saudi League.
The former Liverpool defender has been among the vocal opponents of the massive summer transfer campaign orchestrated by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund that has begun to target top-level footballers across Europe, with stars the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and N’Golo Kanté setting off for the nations big four clubs Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad, Al-Nassr, and Al-Ahli in the last six months.
But the situation had come to a head recently as Saudi clubs not only were targeting veteran footballers but more established prime-age footballers as well as young talent, with recent moves for Rúben Neves, Jota, Edouard Mendy, Marcelo Brozović, and Kalidou Koulibaly possibly being added to by a potential shock deal for Manchester City star Bernardo Silva.
To that end, Carragher broke his silence surrounding the summer dealings under the guise that the money on offer could continue to pull top talent away from Europe.
“Bernardo Silva is in his peak years & has been one of the best players in Europe for the last five years! I wasn’t worried about the Saudi League taking players in their 30s, a touch worried with players below the elite (Neves) but if this happens it feels like a game changer. Saudi has taken over Golf, the big Boxing fights & now they want to take over football! This sports washing needs to be stopped!”
🚨 Rio Ferdinand calls out Jamie Carragher’s views on the Saudi Pro League. 🇸🇦🗣️
Do you agree with Rio? 🤔
(🎥 @FIVEUK) pic.twitter.com/w5PlAuJ3oU
— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) July 6, 2023
However, friend and former Liverpool colleague Steven Gerrard has been the latest big name to move to the Gulf kingdom to take up his new managerial post with Al-Ettifaq, which Ferdinand pointed out on his media outlet, FIVE, that Carragher had little to say.
“I’m actually buzzing for, for any of the guys who have gone out to Saudi. Because it’s Saudi, people are going mad. But all these other countries and leagues over the years have done exactly the same thing.”
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