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Dejan Lovren takes swipe at Sergio Ramos as he doubles down on 'best defender in the world' comment

The Liverpool defender has made some high-profile gaffes since signing from Southampton in 2014

Thursday 01 November 2018 12:00 GMT
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Liverpool 2018/19 Premier League profile

Dejan Lovren has claimed he is one of the best defenders in the world, and called out Sergio Ramos for being more error-prone than he is.

The Liverpool defender has made some high-profile gaffes since signing from Southampton in 2014, being named in the Telegraph’s 20 worst signings in 2015.

But in an interview with Copa90, Lovren was asked to name the top five centre-backs on the planet and included himself, while explaining that he felt other, better-known players, get away with more mistakes.

“If you look, Ramos, he has many more mistakes than me but he’s at Real Madrid,” Lovren said. “With Ronaldo, when you make a mistake, it’s 5-1, 5-2 and nobody sees the mistake.

“I’m quite unlucky, when I make the mistake it’s 1-0. When I do a mistake I don’t talk to anyone, not even my wife… you don’t know how it is.”

When talking about the top five central defenders in the world, Lovren cites teammate Virgil van Dijk as one of the best, as well as Thiago Silva and Raphael Varane.

But Lovren also said that he believes himself to be among that elite group.

“I said I’m one of the best, not the best. It can be five, but look at this season and tell me who played in the Champions League final and then a month later in the World Cup final. I was second after Thierry Henry, I searched that information.

“I like Varane, he deserves a lot of credit but he doesn’t get it as much. Ramos get it, I don’t agree with that.”

Asked if he thought the France international was a better player than Ramos, Lovren had no doubts.

“Definitely. At this moment and in previous years, yeah. He won the Champions League and the World Cup, I think he should be the best defender in the world but they chose Ramos.”

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