Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai and Real Madrid’s Arda Güler have escalated their rivalry following Turkey’s emphatic 3-0 victory over Hungary in Sunday’s Nations League playoff.
The win secured Turkey’s promotion to League A with a 6-1 aggregate score.
The tension ignited when Güler scored Turkey’s second goal in the 39th minute and celebrated by making a “shushing” gesture toward the Hungarian captain.
This act apparently stemmed from a previous clash during a friendly match in March 2024.
Szoboszlai responded after the match by commenting “1088” on an Instagram post featuring Güler’s celebration – a pointed reference to the limited minutes the 20-year-old Turkish star has played for Real Madrid this season.
This digital jab contrasts Güler’s restricted role at Madrid with Szoboszlai’s nearly 2,900 minutes for Liverpool.
Now sensationally, Arda Guler has not taken Szoboszlai’s words too kindly.
He posted an Instagram story this Monday showcasing a scoreboard with the score and showed Hungary having ‘scored’ with his Instagram comment.
He then added a caption: “This guy is a joke. Isn’t 6 goals enough to shut you up?”
It’s rare to see two players publicly going at it in this manner and is arguably quite refreshing to see them break from the media-trained mode.
Szoboszlai’s frustration has likely stemmed from a poor a Nations League campaign with Hungary, capping off what has been a difficult year with his nation after the Euro 2024 disappointment.
Hungarian media were also not too impressed with their skipper’s performance, with Nemetzi Sport giving him a 5/10 against Turkey and writing:
“He fought for a corner with a huge sprint, from which he put himself in a shooting position with a good trick, unfortunately the finish was not successful in the 16th minute, then he laughed at Arda Güler, who warned him to be quiet.”
They add he had an error leading to goal as well:
“He had responsibility in the second Turkish goal, losing the ball and stepping out of the way of Arda Güler at the moment of crossing.”
With a key clash against Everton firmly on the horizon, hopefully the Hungarian can aside these frustrations and focus on securing silverware with Liverpool.
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