Former Liverpool striker Florent Sinama-Pongolle has revealed how he was left ‘traumatised’ after witnessing a clash between Steven Gerrard and El Hadji Diouf.
The duo had a well-publicised clash of personalities during their time together at Anfield, with both taking shots at each other even after their playing days and commenting on how they simply didn’t see eye-to-eye but in more colourful language.
In turn, it’s no surprise to hear that they had at least one furious argument while they were teammates, with Sinama-Pongolle lifting the lid on one incident in particular.
“Half-time of a pre-season game. Fight between Diouf and Gerrard. I was traumatised,” Pongolle told journalist Walid Acherchour, as quoted by the Daily Mail. “Can you imagine the young ones seeing this and thinking that’s what professionals are like at that level?
“At half-time, in the dressing room. Stevie G is all like, “You have to pass, you have to pass” and [Diouf] just loses it.
“He didn’t speak English. His English was rubbish. You know what he did? They hated each other so much. Steven Gerrard arrives, he insults Diouf. “Hey, you f*****”.
“And [Diouf] couldn’t answer, so he grabs [former Liverpool boss] Gerard Houllier and says: “Tell him, I’ll f*** his mum”.
“He came in and said: “I’m not his mate, I’ll do him in straight away”.’
While Gerrard went on to cement his place as a club legend, Diouf never lived up to his price-tag and potential and left for Bolton Wanderers after a disappointing spell on Merseyside.
It seems as though the pair have put their spat behind them and moved on now, but clearly based on the clash detailed above, things perhaps got way too personal which in turn contributed to the breakdown between them and why they won’t be going for a drink together any time soon.