Dejan Lovren has admitted that he deliberately bowed to Sergio Ramos in revenge for a foul on Mohamed Salah in the 2018 Champions League final.
The former Liverpool defender had a clash with the Real Madrid star in Croatia’s 3-2 win over Spain in the Nations League in November 2018.
Immediately after the match, Lovren appeared to suggest in an Instagram Live video that he deliberately elbowed Ramos.
In the clip, he allegedly also said, “Haha. 3-2. Go ahead and talk to you buddy. Buddy! You [Spain] are a bunch of P ******. “
The defense attorney then responded with a love heart emoji to a fan comment on social media when asked if he did it “for Mohamed Salah,” which suggested it did.
(Image: Pool via REUTERS)
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Salah was injured in a challenge with Ramos in the Champions League final and the Reds star was tearfully pushed off the pitch before Madrid took the European crown.
And now Lovren, who recently left Liverpool to join Zenit St Petersburg, has confirmed that his actions were indeed intended.
He told the Egyptian television station Sada El Balad : “I hit Ramos on purpose after injuring Salah? Yes, it is possible.
“Luka Modric tried to ease the tension between me and Ramos and we faced Spain with the Croatian national team. I purposely hit him with the elbows and told him we’d pulled now.
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“I respect Ramos as a player and what he does for his team. He’s won a lot of titles, but on the other hand he’s behaving that I don’t like and that harms the players.
“I don’t want to make a big story but I think Ramos intended to hurt my boyfriend so it was time to pay for what he did.
“We played a lot better than Real Madrid before Salah was injured in the Champions League final.
“His exit was a heavy blow for us. After his exit, they dominated the game.”
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