Roberto Firmino has branded Sergio Ramos an “idiot” after the Real Madrid captain continued to revel in last month’s 3-1 Champions League final win over Liverpool.
Gareth Bale came off the bench to net a remarkable overhead kick and complete his brace to stand as Madrid’s hero in a third consecutive European title win in Kiev.
In the eyes of Liverpool supporters, Ramos was unquestionably the villain of the piece after he tangled with Mohamed Salah in the first half, leaving the Egyptian superstar with a shoulder injury that saw him substituted.
That challenge resulted in an online petition for UEFA and FIFA to take action against the Spain defender, which passed 500,000 signatures.
Ramos has also been accused of deliberately elbowing Loris Karius shortly before the first of his two game-changing mistakes – an incident that is believed to have caused the Liverpool goalkeeper to suffer concussion.
“I am only missing Roberto Firmino saying he got a cold because a drop of my sweat landed on him,” the 32-year-old told Spanish newspaper AS.
Such a mocking tone has not gone down well with Firmino.
“I prefer not to make any comments,” he said in a news conference at Brazil’s pre-World Cup training camp in London.
“I think he has a view because he was the champion but I thought he was an idiot for what he said, but that’s okay.”
Karius’ final woes have prompted widespread speculation Liverpool will seek a new goalkeeper, with Firmino’s international team-mate Alisson one of the leading names on the market after a stellar season with Roma.
“Sometimes I talk to him about it and have a joke with him, saying ‘you should come to Liverpool’,” Firmino said.
“His agent is sorting his future but it wouldn’t be a bad thing to have him here at Liverpool.”
