Mohamed Salah injury sparked 500k petition and £800million lawsuit as Liverpool vs Real Madrid rivalry exploded

Today at 08:31 AM

Real Madrid put Liverpool in a headlock back in October 2014 and never let go.

The Spanish giants have won all-but one of the eight European meetings in the last decade – including two Champions League finals.

But it was an infamous armlock, rather than a headlock, that Liverpool fans will remember most ahead of another clash with Madrid on Wednesday night.

Mohamed Salah, their star player both today and in 2018, was forced off inside the opening 30 minutes of that year’s Champions League final after being hauled to the ground by defender Sergio Ramos.

The Egyptian left the field in tears and Liverpool succumbed to a 3-1 defeat in Kyiv, but that was not the end of it.

Salah was diagnosed with a dislocated shoulder, throwing his World Cup into doubt, and furious football fans accused Ramos of deliberate foul play.

Ex-Reds boss Jurgen Klopp compared the defender to a wrestler, describing his actions as ‘ruthless and brutal’.

The former Spain captain had a reputation for the dark arts, to put it lightly – and one Egyptian lawyer went so far as to launch a €1bn (£873m) lawsuit against Ramos.

Bassem Wahba accused the defender of purposely inflicting ‘psychological and physical pain’ upon Egypt.

Meanwhile, a genuine petition on change.org, calling for the Madrid defender to face consequences, gathered more than 500,000 signatures.

It read: “Sergio Ramos intentionally kept Mohamed Salah’s arm under his armpit, causing dislocation of his shoulder. Not only missing the rest of the game, but also missing the FIFA World Cup 2018 [sic: Salah recovered in time for the World Cup].

“In addition, he kept acting that Liverpool players fouled him falsely, causing the referee to give [Sadio] Mane a yellow card he did not deserve.

“Sergio Ramos represents an awful example to future generations of football players. Instead of winning matches fairly, he uses tricks that defy the spirit of the game and fair play.

“UEFA and FIFA should take measures against Ramos and similar players, using the video recordings of matches to keep the spirit of the game.”

For context, petitions that reach 100,000 signatures are almost always debated in parliament, although they must call for specific action from the UK government or House of Commons.

While this one fell outside their jurisdiction, it remains among the most popular petitions in UK history.

In a blown up football world fuelled by social media and full of overreactions, most would think this was all meaningless petty business.

But between Ramos and Salah, two of the world’s most famous footballers at the time, it was very real.

The Spaniard was later forced to deny purposely injuring his opponent, accusing Salah of starting the duel and suggesting the Egyptian could have played on with an injection.

“Bloody hell, they have given this Salah thing a lot of attention. I didn’t want to speak because everything is magnified,” Ramos said.

“I remember the play well: he grabs my arm first and I fell to the other side, the injury happened to the other arm and they said that I gave him a judo hold. After that the goalkeeper said I dazed him with a clash.

“I spoke with Salah through messages, he was quite good. He could have played on if he got an injection for the second-half, I have done it sometimes but when Ramos does something like this, it sticks a little bit more.

“I don’t know if it is because you are at Madrid for so long and win for so long that people look at it a different way.

“I am only missing Roberto Firmino saying he got a cold because a drop of my sweat landed on him.”

But contrary to what Ramos said, Salah was in no mood to forgive and forget.

Responding to those comments, the Liverpool forward said: "It’s funny… My comment is that it’s always okay when the one who made you cry first, then makes you laugh.

“Maybe he could also tell me if I’m going to be ready for the World Cup?

"He sent me a message, but I never told him it was okay."

Salah did recover in time for the World Cup, but despite scoring both of his nation’s goals, could not prevent Egypt from losing all three matches and finishing bottom of their group.

He would come face-to-face with Ramos at a Champions League draw in August 2018, where tensions were still yet to cool.

Ramos was seated behind Salah and, after being named best Champions League defender in 2017/18, tapped Salah on his left shoulder – the one he injured.

While others congratulated Ramos, Salah did not even acknowledge him.

On the pitch, they would meet again in the Champions League quarter-finals three years later, and the Egyptian appeared to suggest he was over it.

“That game is in the past, so I don’t think about it. I’m thinking about the team. Everyone is focused on their team and everyone wants to win… that’s it,” Salah said.

“What’s going to happen now isn’t going to change the result of the final in Kyiv. That’s in the past.”

Although, the winger admitted: “Let’s just say that I have special motivation to win the tie and go through to the semi-finals.”

After dumping Liverpool out on their way to another Champions League title, Ramos would leave the Bernabeu in 2021.

One year later, the pair were seen hugging and shaking hands at a Dubai awards ceremony, which would suggest it is all water under the bridge.

Salah did get his hands on European football’s most famous trophy in 2019 – and fast forward to today, his future at Anfield is up in the air.

The 32-year-old goes into Wednesday night’s clash with Madrid after a bombshell interview, heavily suggesting he will leave Liverpool as a free agent when his contract expires in June.