Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher agreed former captain Steven Gerrard’s opinion on their worst-ever teammate.
Having played at Liverpool for his entire senior career, Carragher can perhaps give insight into the dozens of players he shared a pitch with at Anfield.
Across 17 years with the Merseyside club, Carragher made 737 appearances in all competitions, playing alongside some of the club’s very best including the likes of Luis Suarez, Fernando Torres and Gerrard.
However, his long service to the Red also means that Carragher played alongside some of the club’s less impressive players, but there’s one that stood out to both Carragher and Gerrard as the very worst.
Back in the summer of 2002, Senegalese striker El Hadji Diouf joined Liverpool from French side Lens in a £10million, but failed to live up expectations.
El Hadji Diouf made 80 appearances for Liverpool. (Image: Getty)
And when asked to pick his worst-ever teammate, Diouf was the first name to come to Carragher’s mind.
Speaking to the Daily Mail in 2016, Carragher said: “There’s been a few. El Hadji Diouf has got to be up there. Alberto Aquilani would have to be up there as well.
“We spent a lot of money on him. He was signed injured, he left injured and I can’t remember him not being injured.
“I can’t believe we signed Mario Balotelli! The thing with Balotelli is everyone always says it’s the off-the-field antics, but I wouldn’t care if he was doing it on the pitch. People tell me he’s got talent but I can’t remember him having a good game!”
Diouf made 80 appearances for Liverpool, scoring six goals and assisting 13 before leaving to join Bolton Wanderers in July 2005.
Steven Gerrard didn’t hold back in his assessment of the Senegalese striker. (Image: Getty)
Unfortunately for the striker, Gerrard also picked him as his worst teammate while discussing it in his autobiography, titled My Story.
Writing in 2015, Gerrard claimed: “I don’t really want to waste time thinking about El Hadji Diouf but it’s worth highlighting his wasted seasons at Liverpool as an example of how it can all go wrong.
“Gerard Houllier, a very good manager and a usually wise judge of character, signed Diouf in the summer of 2002. Gerard bought Diouf for £10m from Lens – solely on the recommendation of his former assistant, Patrice Bergues, who had coached Diouf there.
“It was probably the biggest waste of £18m in Liverpool’s history. We finished the season in fifth place and Diouf had sealed his place at the top of the list of Liverpool signings I liked least.
“It seemed to me that Diouf had no real interest in football and that he cared nothing about Liverpool.”
Later in the book, Gerrard brutally added: “A few people have since asked me if I saw any comparison between Diouf and Mario Balotelli – and I’ve always said no. I’ve got respect for Balotelli; I’ve got none for Diouf.”
