Real Madrid were desperate to ‘make fun’ of Salah in Champions League as Modric’s taunt to Liverpool star is revealed
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RODRYGO has revealed how Real Madrid used Mohamed Salah as motivation ahead of the Champions League final last month.
Los Blancos lifted the trophy for the 14th time after defeating Liverpool in a narrow 1-0 win at the Stade de France.
In the build-up to the event, Salah had spoken out about wanting revenge for the Reds' 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the 2018 final, where he was forced off with an injury.
He said: "I want to play Madrid. It’s personal.
"Personally I would prefer Madrid [rather than Man City] because we lost in the final so I want to play against them and hopefully win it from them."
The winger also took to prior to the match to say: "We have a score to settle."
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Now, Real Madrid forward Rodrygo has said that many of his teammates used the comments as motivation during training.
When speaking on the Podpah podcast, he said: "When a guy provokes, sometimes you just want to win so you can make fun of them.
"In training we used to say 'come Salah, come Salah'… in our head it was already 'we have to win to then make fun of Salah'."
He also revealed that Luka Modric was quick to take a dig at the Liverpool star after the final whistle.
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He added: "When the game was over, the Real Madrid players made a runner.
"Liverpool were passing by, Salah was going through a little sad, head down.
"Modric looked at him and said: 'Thank you, Salah, next time you try again.' I started laughing."
Real Madrid enjoyed another successful campaign last season, adding a 35th La Liga title to their long list of accolades along with the Champions League.