Rio Ferdinand accuses Jamie Carragher of being a hypocrite as their spat continues 

Rio Ferdinand has continued his feud with Jamie Carragher after accusing the former Liverpool man of hypocrisy over Saudi Arabia’s growing involvement in football.

The investment of the Saudi state into football clubs and players has been a significant talking point among talking heads in the game.

N’Golo Kante, Karim Benzema and Ruben Neves are among the biggest playing names to join the Saudi Pro League this summer, but Ferdinand’s spat with Carragher has centred around Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard’s appointment as the new manager of Al-Ettifaq.

In the latest in a series of combative posts between the pair, Ferdinand said: ‘The facts are…. You disrespected the league / country / culture but kept quiet when your two boys Stevie / Fowler went 10 days later.’

Former Reds striker Robbie Fowler has also taken a job in the country coaching second tier side Al-Qadsiah.

Rio Ferdinand has continued his spat with Jamie Carragher over Saudi Arabia’s growing influence on football

He accused the former Liverpool star of hypocrisy after failing to call out his former teammate Steven Gerrard’s move to the Saudi Pro League

Gerrard was appointed as manager of Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Ettifaq on Monday

Ferdinand had previously called the 45-year-old out when the Gerrard news was announced.

During his FIVE programming, he said: ‘Jamie. Jamie Carragher. Where are you man? I heard a lot of talk, a lot of negativity about Saudi. Oh, Bernardo Silva, I can’t believe it. It’s a disgrace, it needs investigating, this league, et cetera.

Follow MailSport on Threads here: https://www.threads.net/@mailsport

‘Steven Gerrard’s gone. You used to carry his boots and his bag at Anfield to games. Your boy’s gone over there and I’ve not heard a peep out of you. I’ve not heard how disappointed you are. I want to see him say “I can’t believe Stevie’s gone there”.

‘I’m actually buzzing for any of the guys that have gone out to Saudi. Because it’s Saudi, people are going mad, but all these other countries and leagues over the years have done exactly the same thing.’

Carragher hit back at the comments, and cited Ferdinand’s ducking of questions over Qatar during the 2022 World Cup. 

‘Never criticised Silva, [Karim] Benzema, [Ruben] Neves or SG, I don’t like Saudi trying to buy football like they have Golf,’ he tweeted.

‘I knew you’d be all over it @rioferdy5 like you were in Qatar! That’s why you refused to do the opening game for @BBCMOTD didn’t want to criticise your paymaster!’

Carragher in turn has criticised Ferdinand for not calling out Qatar during the World Cup last year

He accused the Man United legend of ‘not wanting to criticise his paymaster’

Aside from spats between his former England teammates, Gerrard’s appointment at Al-Ettifaq will be a welcome return to management after being sacked as Aston Villa boss in October.

Unai Emery’s subsequent turnaround at the club did not reflect well on the 43-year-old, although he did lead Rangers to the Scottish Premiership in his only other managerial role to date.

Gerrard joins a side outside of the PIF-owned elite in Saudi, but the Commandos have a rich history in Middle Eastern football and finished seventh last season.

 Follow MailSport on Threads here: https://www.threads.net/@mailsport