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African legend Didier Drogba has taken to social media to respond to Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp's comments about the Africa Cup of Nations being a "little tournament."
Following Liverpool's convincing 4-0 win over Arsenal in the Premier League last November, Klopp seemed to refer to AFCON as a small tournament. He said:
“I’ve heard that so often that there’s no international break until March. In January, there’s a little tournament in Africa, I just want to say, and I think Asia is playing games, too – South America as well, great, can’t wait."
Klopp clarified a few weeks later that he did not mean to disrespect the tournament and that his words had been taken out of context.
However, this did not stop Didier Drogba from taking a jibe at the German manager on Twitter. The former Chelsea forward shared a video of Senegal fans celebrating their win and captioned it:
"A « little tournament » that means a lot for us Africans"
It is worth mentioning that Liverpool were impacted the most by the Africa Cup of Nations out of all other Premier League sides. The Reds lost key first-team players in Naby Keita, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane for a couple of weeks due to the tournament.
Ultimately, it was Mohamed Salah's Egypt and Sadio Mane's Senegal that went head to head in the AFCON final. The game ended 0-0 after extra time, with Senegal winning the tournament following a penalty shootout.
Sadio Mane was also named the tournament's best player, having contributed three goals and two assists. The 29-year-old also scored the decisive penalty in the final.
Liverpool did not miss Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane while they were competing at the 2021 AFCON
Many believed Liverpool would struggle to compete across all competitions when they lost Salah, Mane and Keita during the 2021 AFCON. However, the Reds coped nicely despite missing their star forwards.
Jurgen Klopp's side secured comfortable wins against Brentford and Crystal Palace in the Premier League and also managed to reach the Carabao Cup final. They secured a 2-0 aggregate win over Arsenal in the semi-final to set up a meeting with Chelsea in the final later this month.
Liverpool have also made it through to the fifth round of the FA Cup after beating Shrewsbury Town and Cardiff City in the earlier stages of the cup competition.
However, the return of both Sadio Mane and Mo Salah will be crucial for the Reds. They will take on Inter Milan in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League on February 16 before playing the Carabao Cup final against Chelsea.
