Dejan Lovren has explained the reason for his close friendship with Liverpool team-mate Mohamed Salah – as he suggested Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos is overrated. Lovren has developed a strong bond with Salah since the Egyptian’s move from Roma to Anfield in the summer of 2017.
The pair regularly post images of them together on social media, and are often snapped together during training sessions at Melwood. And Lovren said: “From day one, we felt this connection.
“We have been talking a lot, we were talking about private things and we have a similar background, a tough life from the beginning.
“And then with his normality, how he can talk to you and when you see how he thinks… we are good friends, coffee, jokes!”
Lovren was talking in an interview for COPA90’s Fifa and Chill series, where he was asked about a wide range of topics. Among those discussed were his comments during the summer that he was now one of the best defenders in the world.
“I said one of the best, I never said I was the best and I don’t think I said anything wrong!” he said.
“Of course, my haters will always say that.”
“It wasn’t easy to grow up where he was in Egypt without anything, and I had a similar thing in Croatia with the war and going back to Germany.
And when asked who else would rank among the best defenders at present, Lovren made a frank confession regarding Ramos – the player who injured Salah during Real Madrid’s 3-1 Champions League final win over Liverpool in May.
“Virgil (Van Dijk) I would say (is among the best),” he said. “We had a great season last season, me and him, we reached the final of the Champions League.
“I would say (Raphael) Varane. I like Varane, he deserves a lot of credit, he doesn’t get it as much as Ramos gets. I don’t agree with that.
“Definitely Varane is better, this season and previous seasons. He won the Champions League and the World Cup. He should be the best defender in the world and they chose Ramos.
“I always consider Thiago Silva. He is really a good experience players, he isn’t that tall but can jump quite high. He is strong.”
Lovren also addressed his critics by having another dig at Real Madrid skipper Ramos.
“Sometimes I don’t deserve the hate, I would say,” he said. “If you look, Ramos has many more mistakes than me.
“But he plays for Real Madrid, when you do a mistake you win 5-1 or 5-2, nobody cares about the mistake.
“I’m quite unlucky in that when I make a mistake it’s 1-0 and the game is finished!