Ralph Rangnick has been a major obstacle for Liverpool this summer as they attempt to sign Naby Keita.

The RB Leipzig supremo has foiled the Reds at every turn, with two bids rejected for the Guinea midfielder.

Rangnick, who has a good relationship with Jurgen Klopp, has been outspoken, too. He hasn’t been afraid to tell Liverpool to back off when it comes to Leipzig’s star man.

And then he went and put his foot in his mouth.

(Image: ERNST WUKITS/AFP/GettyImages)



For those of you who haven’t seen it, Rangnick had this to say when speaking about Keita’s situation:

“There should be someone who points them into the right direction.

“The boys themselves are not the problem here. It is their surroundings.

A whole village in Guinea or somebody from their entourage tells the players why they must do something right away. I can’t blame the players.

Now that little dig, ‘the whole village in Guinea’, may just have sparked a row that could - and I wouldn’t bet on it - give Liverpool a way back in for Keita. If the player and his camp are offended, then they could make life a lot more difficult for Rangnick.

We’ll have to see how this one plays out.