Arda Guler and Dominik Szoboszlai’s feud has escalated after the pair clashed while on international duty. It’s probably just as well then that they didn’t end up teammates at Liverpool.
Guler and Szoboszlai were seen exchanging words during Turkey’s 3-0 win over Hungary in the Nations League play-offs, with the former even appearing to shush the Liverpool midfielder at one point. The spat has now spilled over onto social media, with the pair trading further digs.
Szobsoszlai began by commenting ‘1088’ on a picture of him and Guler arguing during the game, seemingly a reference to the amount of minutes his counterpart has played for Real Madrid in all competitions this season, having struggled for minutes under Carlo Ancelotti. Guler fired back on his Instagram story, saying: “This guy is a joke. Isn’t six goals enough to shut you up?” while also posting a mocked up picture of a scoreboard from the game with “Szoboszlai 1 Instagram comment” on the Hungary side.
The pair are unlikely to meet each other again any time soon, but had things worked out differently a couple of years ago, they might have been preparing for a very awkward reunion back at Anfield after the international break.
Liverpool fans will already be familiar with Guler. Back in 2023, he was being linked with a move to Anfield after catching the eye at Fenerbahce.
The speculation even went as far as suggesting that the Reds had been in contact with Guler’s father (via Give Me Sport) as they looked to win the race for his signature. There was certainly plenty of interest around Europe, with Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan, Napoli, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Arsenal also linked.
(Image: ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP via Getty Images)
In the end, though, Liverpool elected to walk away from the race, according to ESPN, with the fees involved thought to be too rich for the Reds. In the end, it was Real Madrid that secured his signature.
His early days at the Bernabeu were wrecked by injury, with Guler not making his La Liga debut until January. He would make 12 appearances in total during the 2023/24 campaign, including five goals in his final five league outings of the campaign.
The teenager dubbed the ‘Turkish Messi’ really announced himself on the European stage following a sensational strike at Euro 2024 against Georgia. As Szoboszlai eluded to though, he has continued to struggle to make an impact in Madrid, with just 10 starts in 30 appearances to his name this season, although he can claim bragging rights over the Liverpool man after Turkey’s comprehensive play-off victory.
An original version of this article was first published on June 18. It has since been updated.
