Dominik Szoboszlai was involved in an altercation with Arda Guler during Sunday night’s UEFA Nations League clash between Hungary and Turkey. Liverpool star Szoboszlai played the full 90 minutes but was unable to prevent Hungary slumping to a 3-0 defeat in Budapest.
Hakan Calhanoglu opened the scoring for Turkey from the penalty spot in the 37th minute before Guler doubled the visitors’ advantage moments later. Abdulkerim Bardakci added gloss to the scoreline by adding a third goal for Turkey shortly before full-time.
Szoboszlai and Guler, the Real Madrid starlet who is widely considered one of the most promising young players in world football, clashed at one point during the match. Guler, 20, was seen putting his finger to his lips, shushing his 24-year-old opponent.
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Subtle dig at Arda Guler's lack of playing time this season
Eagle-eyed fans noticed after the match that Szoboszlai had issued a short, eyebrow-raising comment on an Instagram post which featured a screenshot of the aforementioned incident. Szoboszlai wrote: “1088’”.
Social media detectives immediately got to work and it wasn’t long before they unearthed the apparent meaning behind the ‘insult’. Szoboszlai appears to have noticed, using Transfermarkt’s data, that Guler has only played 1088 minutes for Real Madrid this season.
In La Liga, Guler has made 18 appearances for Real Madrid this term, playing a total of 644 minutes. He’s played 142 minutes of Madrid’s UEFA Champions League campaign so far, plus 300 minutes in the Copa del Rey, and a two-minute cameo in the UEFA Super Cup against Atalanta back in August.
“Szoboszlai got straight into the dressing room and Googled how many minutes Arda Guler has played this season,” one fan commented, “this is the level of hater I aspire to be.” This was clearly Szoboszlai’s way of telling Guler to pipe down.
Fabrizio Romano has since confirmed this to be the reason behind Szoboszlai’s comment. A creative, if not cheeky, way of firing back at Guler.
Calls For Arda Guler to Play More Minutes
Talented youngster has struggled for game time
Arda Guler
Guler’s lack of playing time this season has sparked plenty of debate. Calhanoglu recently came forward and called for his international teammate to be handed more minutes at club level. Per the Daily Mail, the midfielder said: “I don’t know what his situation is at Real Madrid, so I don’t want to get too involved in this situation because in the end, he knows more, although of course, I want and believe he deserves to play more minutes.”
Turkey head coach Vincenzo Montella also commented: “He’s improved a lot in terms of attitude and character. He’s learned to fight and fight, and he’s here with us because he has exceptional talent.”
As for Szoboszlai, he’s played a total of 2,887 minutes for Liverpool so far this term, and has further enhanced his reputation with a series of excellent performances alongside the likes of Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister in midfield. The former RB Leipzig star, who has already been capped 53 times by Hungary, and his Liverpool teammates are expected to end the season as Premier League champions.