‘He had attitude’: Danny Murphy says £10m player seriously fell out with Steven Gerrard at Liverpool
Liverpool have had their fair share of erratic characters over the years. Luis Suarez was a very controversial figure at Anfield, Mario Balotelli’s name was...
Liverpool have had their fair share of erratic characters over the years.
Luis Suarez was a very controversial figure at Anfield, Mario Balotelli’s name was rarely out of the headlines, while Craig Bellamy had his fair share of notorious moments at Anfield.
However, perhaps the most outlandish figure in Liverpool’s recent history is El Hadji Diouf.
The winger arrived at Anfield for £10m in 2002, which was a lot of money at the time, and while he didn’t do much on the pitch, he certainly made a name for himself off of it.
Diouf had an infamous run-in with Celtic fans in 2003, and speaking to Open Goal, Danny Murphy has shared what the attacker was truly like behind-the-scenes at Liverpool.
What El Hadji Diouf was like at Liverpool
Murphy shared his experiences of sharing a dressing room with Diouf.
The former Liverpool star says he actually got on with Diouf to begin with, but you could tell that he had an attitude.
In fact, Murphy said that Diouf’s attitude was so bad that he actually fell out with Steven Gerrard during his time at Anfield.
“What was he like Diouf?” Murphy was asked.
“He was strange. He was fine when he got there. He was quite fun, he wasn’t really a goalscorer, he played on the right, but he had a bit, he was strong and he would keep the ball for a bit,” Murphy said.
“But he had attitude at the time, and he fell out with Stevie early on. It was silly comments, he was dismissive and then it goes off. I remember one day he didn’t talk to me for about three or four weeks and I didn’t know why.”
How did El Hadji Diouf do at Liverpool?
Diouf clearly didn’t have the best attitude at Liverpool, but could he back it up on the pitch?
Unfortunately, the answer to that question is no.
Diouf may have been nominated for the Ballon d’Or in 2002, but he was far from being one of the best players in the world.
Diouf would score just three league goals in 55 appearances for Liverpool, and in his second-season at the club he failed to score a single goal in all competitions.
Diouf was a serious flop at Liverpool, and he’s since been held up as a warning sign for any team looking to buy a player off the back of an international tournament after his incredible 2002 World Cup run with Senegal.
Who knows? Perhaps Diouf could’ve made it at Liverpool if he’d applied himself properly and gelled into the team, but once you fall out with a player like Steven Gerrard, you’re facing an uphill battle.
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