Jamie Carragher and Rio Ferdinand’s continued spat has spilled over onto social media.
Carragher has drawn criticism for his comments regarding the Africa Cup of Nations with former Manchester United defender Ferdinand hitting back at the current Sky Sports pundit.
The basis of the argument stems from comments made by the ex-Liverpool star about Mohamed Salah’s chances of a potential Ballon d’Or crown, with Carragher stating how AFCON isn’t seen as a major tournament.
Jamie Carragher vs Rio Ferdinand: What do we know so far?
Carragher believes Salah’s ranking in the Ballon d’Or isn’t as high as it could be simply because he plays for Egypt. The Liverpudlian expressed his views after the Reds took a huge step towards the Premier League title with victory over Manchester City on Sunday.
“I think the problem is the fact he’s with Egypt, and he’s probably not playing in the major tournament as such or maybe got a great chance of winning. I think it’s either the Champions League or a major tournament, the player who excels in that, like Vinicius Jr and Kylian Mbappe right now.”
Fellow pundits Richards and Sturridge then pulled up Carragher on his comments, admitting that AFCON is a major tournament. The latter then appeared to mouth “Oh my God,” and made eye contact with the camera.
It is that sarcastic view that has since irked Ferdinand, who reflected on players of yesteryears who have all played at the tournament and gone on to achieve brilliant things similiatoanuesly.
“That comment is representative of the majority of people out there, I think it’s an ignorant thought process,” said TNT Sports pundit Ferdinand. “It should be respected more than it is. I understand what Jamie’s saying but I don’t agree with it, that’s a majority view and it’s not right.
“What Jamie’s saying, and he’s right, if Salah won AFCON, it would have no bearing on anyone’s voting on the Ballon d’Or and that’s wrong, that was one of the parts he was arguing about.”
The fued has now spilled onto Instagram, with Carragher calling out Ferdinand for his comments. “I didn’t say that you clown,” the 47-year-old commented on the Instagram post of his former rival. “Stop playing to the gallery like you always do.”
Carra has also been forced to respond with a lengthy social media post detailing why he made the comments as controversy continues to weigh in on the matter.
“The point I was trying to make yesterday was that Mo Salah is at a disadvantage playing for Egypt in terms of him winning the Ballon d’Or. If Salah had an average season at Liverpool, but won the AFCON and was player of the tournament then I don’t think he would win the Ballon d’Or.
“I don’t think AFCON carries the weight of other tournaments. But if Mbappe had an average season at Real Madrid but won the World Cup or Euros, then he would still have a great opportunity. It’s not just about certain tournaments – [Andriy] Shevchenko and [Robert] Lewandowski were never going to win the World Cup or Euros to help their case for the prize.
“I don’t think it’s controversial at all really it’s just a fact. I know [Sadio] Mane came second a few years back after winning the tournament, but that alone wouldn’t have got him to that position. It was Liverpool being two games away from [winning the] quadruple that also played a big role.
“It’s not disrespectful if I feel the World Cup, Euros, Champions League are better tournaments. That’s just my opinion when I watch them. Saying it wasn’t a major competition was clumsy but I think most people watching could understand the point I was trying to make.
“The face I pulled when Micah interjected was nothing to do with the merits of the tournament, I just knew as soon as he did what the reaction was going to be! I get a lot people didn’t like what I said and that’s fine.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(471x244:473x246)/CNN-New-Years-Eve-with-Anderson-Cooper-123124-9952e5f00fc1425f87113ba2bfb97b29.jpg "Anderson Cooper Says He Once ‘Hated’ New Year’s Eve While Co-Hosting CNN Broadcast")
