Harvey Elliott did Liverpool proud when he ‘stunned’ Real Madrid officials when he blatantly and unhesitatingly snubbed the opportunity to meet Sergio Ramos because he just simply didn’t like him after Ramos’ clash with Mohamed Salah in the 2018 Champions League final.
Real Madrid had gone all out of their way in an attempt to lure Elliott to Spain in the summer of 2019 with their main charm offensive being to arrange for the young lad to meet their long-serving captain, Ramos, when the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City and Chelsea were also vying for his signature.
The Athletic claim that Real officials asked Elliott if he would like to meet Ramos, the club captain, but the teenager instantly replied: ‘No, it’s OK, thanks. I don’t like him after what he did to Mo Salah.’ Elliott happened to be in Kiev when Salah was forced to bow out of the Champions League final with a shoulder injury following a questionable collision with ‘Ironman’ Ramos.
The response of course came as a shock to, and a slap in the face of, his hosts and that put paid to Real’s efforts to charm the evidently not-so-impressionable and straight-shooting Elliott and convince the winger to refuse a move to Liverpool, who eventually won the race to sign the coveted Fulham teenager. This was also in part due to Elliott’s life-long affiliation with the club as a fan.
Elliott has since made seven senior appearances for Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp harbours high hopes for the young Englishman.
Liverpool fans accused Ramos of deliberately taking out Salah, an accusation the centre-back has always denied, but evidently Elliott was unyielding and still harbouring a grudge when he toured the Bernabeu and their training complex a year later.
Klopp has complimented Elliott as an ‘exceptional talent’ and the 17-year-old is expected to play a greater role in the first-team squad next season. Liverpool players including Elliott are back in training ahead of the potential restart to the 2019/20 Premier League season.