Liverpool signed El Hadji Diouf from Lens in 2002 for £10 million following his standout performances for Senegal in the World Cup. Gerard Houllier hoped Diouf would help Liverpool compete with Arsenal’s Premier League dominance.
Few could have predicted how disappointing El Hadji Diouf’s time at Liverpool would be. With only six goals in 79 appearances, he left in 2005; his stay was marked more by controversy than achievement. His tenure overlapped with the club’s struggles, and his relationships with teammates, including high-profile disputes with Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, only soured matters. Carragher later famously called him his “worst-ever teammate.”
The Bootle-born defender, who made 737 appearances for Liverpool from 1996 to 2013, has been outspoken about El Hadji Diouf in several interviews since their time together. Having experienced the club’s highs and lows, Jamie Carragher witnessed it all, yet he had no doubt in labeling his former Senegalese teammate as the worst of the bunch.
The Untold Story of Carragher’s Conflict with Diouf
In the 2003/04 season, El Hadji Diouf went scoreless in 33 appearances for Liverpool before joining Bolton Wanderers, where he found more success. However, his career continued to be controversial, with multiple alleged spitting incidents involving players and fans. He eventually retired in 2015 following a spell in Malaysia.
Since retiring, Diouf has been involved in an ongoing feud with Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher, with their clash playing out in interviews and on social media. Carragher famously called out his former teammate on Twitter, reigniting their war of words. Carragher has been quoted saying:
“He has one of the worst strike rates of any forward in Liverpool history. He’s the only No. 9 ever to go through a whole season without scoring; in fact, he’s probably the only No. 9 of any club to do that. He was always the last one to get picked in training.”
The feud intensified in 2015 when Carragher was asked to name the worst player he had ever played with. His response was: “The worst has to be El Hadji Diouf. Actually, I quite enjoyed playing against him as you could kick him then, can’t kick your own players.”
Unsurprisingly, Diouf took offense to this, especially given that he had played alongside Carragher 53 times for Liverpool between 2002 and 2004. In response, Diouf hit back during an interview with So Foot magazine in France, addressing Carragher’s remarks by stating:
“The difference between Jamie and me is that I am a world-class player, and he is a s***. The type of s*** that writes a book and mentions me all the time. Me, in my book, he does not warrant one phrase: he’s a f****** loser.”
Steven Gerrard Also Experienced Difficulties with Diouf
Diouf had a troubling habit of making too many enemies. Steven Gerrard, regarded as one of Liverpool’s greatest and most beloved players, mentioned 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. His attitude was all wrong. I felt he wasn’t really arsed about putting his body on the line to get Liverpool back at the top.”
A single glance at the former Senegalese international’s reaction to that criticism is enough to earn him even more detractors. “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,” he responded.
“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 [Jamie] Carragher.“
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