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Real Madrid midfielder Fede Valverde claims Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah's comments after their semi-final victory have given the Spanish champions extra motivation ahead of the Champions League final.
Following the Reds' victory over Villarreal in the semi-final, Salah was asked who he would rather have faced out of Madrid or Manchester City, who competed in the other final four clash.
The Egyptian forward told Sky Sports (as per GOAL):
"If you ask everybody (at Liverpool), everyone wanted that game. I don't know why we're not allowed to talk about it but I'm ok to talk about it, I wanted that game. I wanted to play Real Madrid before that game (against Manchester City)."
"Of course, I'm not giving too much credit to them. They're an unbelievable team with a great coach and great players. When they asked me who I wanted, I said Madrid. It's an easy answer."
Those comments have clearly ruffled some feathers at the Bernabeu, with Valverde claiming Salah's comments will motivate Los Blanocs for the final in Paris. The Uruguayan international told Marca, via ESPN:
"Obviously they're words that everyone can take however they want. I'm his opponent and it's like disrespecting the Real Madrid badge, the players. The only thing we must do is give our best, try to show why we're in the final and let's hope we can give another trophy to the fans and to Real Madrid."
The final will be a repeat of the 2018 showpiece event, in which Madrid beat Liverpool 3-1 after Salah went off injured midway through the first-half.
Fede Valverde credits Real Madrid fans ahead of final against Liverpool
The Galacticos have enjoyed a roller-coaster journey to the final, as they have pulled off incredible comeback victories against PSG, Chelsea and Manchester City in the preceding knockout rounds.
The victory over City was a particular highlight, as they somehow clawed back a two-goal deficit in injury-time to progress.
Valverde credited the suppporters, as he claimed:
"The first thing to do is thank the fans, because when the game seems lost, when you can't find spaces, the team isn't feeling good, the fans are always there to support us."
"That gives us a plus, an energy that you can't explain. The game isn't over until the referee says so."
"The biggest one was against City. It's very difficult to go through again when you're losing in the 89th minute, you blink and you're winning. They're things that don't happen often in life."
