Rio Ferdinand and Jamie Carragher have come to verbal bows yet again following Steven Gerrard’s move to Saudi Arabia.
Carragher’s former Liverpool teammate has become the latest high-profile name to be lured by the riches of the Gulf nation, where he has landed a two-year deal at Al Ettifaq.
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And Manchester United legend Ferdinand has been quick to accuse his ex-England teammate of staying silent, with the latter previously critical of Saudi’s involvement in the game.
After Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva was linked with a switch to the Middle East, Carragher expressed his fears that it could be a watershed moment for football.
Ferdinand was quick to point this out when speaking on his FIVE YouTube channel, as he said: “Jamie. Jamie Carragher. Where are you man?
“I heard a lot of talk, a lot of negativity about Saudi. ‘Oh, Bernardo Silva, I can’t believe it. It’s a disgrace, it needs investigating, this league,’ etc.
“Steven Gerrard’s gone. You used to carry his boots and his bag at Anfield to games. Your boy’s gone over there and I’ve not heard a peep out of you.
“I’ve not heard how disappointed you are. I want to see him say, ‘I can’t believe Stevie’s gone there.’
“I’m actually buzzing for any of the guys who have gone out to Saudi – because it’s Saudi, people are going mad, but all these other countries and leagues over the years have done exactly the same thing.”
Carragher has been quick to bite back on social media, as he accused his fellow pundit of hypocrisy over his pro-Qatar stance.
He tweeted: “Never criticised Silva, [Karim] Benzema, [Ruben] Neves or SG [Gerrard], I don’t like Saudi trying to buy football like they have golf.
“I knew you’d be all over it @rioferdy5 like you were in Qatar!
“That’s why you refused to do the opening game for @BBCMOTD didn’t want to criticise your paymaster!”
Ferdinand was part of the BBC punditry team at the Qatar World Cup, where he refused to speak out on their poor human right’s record.
Carragher and Ferdinand clashed last season, where the Reds’ icon labelled the 2008 Champions League winner as a ‘clown’.
It led Ferdinand to quip that Carragher ‘used to carry my boots’ when the pair reported for Three Lions duty.
And when the pair came face-to-face at City’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid at the Etihad, Ferdinand blanked Carragher.
Though it was all in good fun, with the duo later shaking hands.
