Dominik Szoboszlai opens up about heated argument with Liverpool teammate Curtis Jones during the game
Dominik Szoboszlai wants to clear the air about his on-field disagreement with Liverpool teammate Curtis Jones last week, saying there’s no hard feelings between them.
The two had a heated exchange after Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Wrexham in New York last Wednesday, mainly because Szoboszlai gave the captain’s armband to Kostas Tsimikas instead of Jones when he was taken off in the second half. While Liverpool won thanks to a lucky deflection from Rio Ngumoha, the little argument caught a lot of attention online.
Liverpool insiders quickly calmed things down, reminding everyone that small disagreements like this happen at top clubs all the time, and since then, Szoboszlai and Jones have even been seen joking together.
Szoboszlai spoke about the incident, saying it was just a simple conversation on the pitch that the media made bigger than it was. He told The Athletic, “It was never a fight between us three. We just talked on the pitch. Next time, we’ll handle it in the changing room. No one was mad at anyone. It’s all sorted now. We’re good.”
Virgil van Dijk is still Liverpool’s captain for the new season. With Andy Robertson now at Tottenham, Liverpool doesn’t have an official vice-captain yet. The club is expected to announce one soon, and Szoboszlai is one of the top candidates. But he knows the competition is tough.
He added, “There’s been no talk about vice-captaincy yet. Virgil’s the captain, and we have Alisson and Joe Gomez too. Alisson isn’t here and Joe is injured right now. I’d be proud if I got it, but it’s not up to me. If you’re offered the vice-captain role at Liverpool FC, you’d definitely take it. But I respect everyone.”
As Hungary’s national team captain, Szoboszlai isn’t letting things get to his head. He knows his main goal is to earn a regular spot in Liverpool’s starting lineup.
“I’m really excited for the new season,” he said. “We’re ready to go and motivated after last season. We didn’t finish where we wanted, so now we want to do better. We have a new manager, and everyone looks eager to play. To play, you have to give your best, and after that, the manager decides who’s on the team. But right now, everyone’s starting fresh.”