Dominik Szoboszlai says Liverpool captaincy row with Curtis Jones and Kostas Tsimikas is ‘clear’

Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai says there is no lingering disagreement with team-mates Curtis Jones and Kostas Tsimikas after a video appeared to show the trio arguing over the captain’s armband.

The incident happened after Liverpool’s 1-0 pre-season friendly win against Wrexham at Yankee Stadium in New York.

As the Liverpool players walked across the pitch to acknowledge the supporters after the final whistle, Jones and Szoboszlai appeared to exchange words before Tsimikas joined the discussion.

Earlier in the match, Szoboszlai handed the armband to Tsimikas rather than Jones when he was substituted. During the post-match exchange, the Greece left-back was filmed throwing the armband to the ground.

In Liverpool’s 4-2 defeat by Leeds on Sunday, Szoboszlai passed the captaincy to Jones when he went off.

The Hungary captain rejected suggestions that the episode reflected a serious dispute between the three players.

“It was not a discussion between the three of us. We just discussed something on the pitch. And then you [the media] made it bigger. But next time we will be able to sort it out in the dressing room. Nobody was angry with anyone else. Everything is clear, everything is fine,” he said.

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk was absent from the club’s tour of the United States, while Joe Gomez suffered an injury in the first match. As a result, Szoboszlai wore the armband for most of the trip.

The midfielder also said new manager Andoni Iraola had not yet spoken to the squad about the identity of the next vice-captain. That position became vacant following Andy Robertson’s move to Tottenham Hotspur.

“No, there has been no discussion. Obviously, we have Virgil as captain. We have Alisson. We have Joe Gomez. So there has been absolutely no discussion. Obviously, Alisson is not here and Joe is injured. It was a big proud moment, and let’s see. It is not up to me. It has not been decided yet,” Szoboszlai said, according to BBC.

Asked whether he would accept the role if it were offered to him, he added: “If you are offered the vice-captaincy at Liverpool, you would accept it. It would be a big proud moment for me. But I respect everyone, so either way, whoever takes the position, we will follow him.”

Speaking to the media in Chicago shortly before Liverpool’s return to the United Kingdom, Szoboszlai said he “cannot wait” for the new season to begin.

He said the squad was ready to respond after falling short of its ambitions last season.

“I feel like we are ready to go again, and we will take motivation from last season because it was not the best. We did not reach what we wanted, so we will try again,” he said.

Szoboszlai also insisted that decisions over potential transfers were not his responsibility.

“It is not my job to tell you who we should sign or whether we should sign anyone. If the people in charge and the manager decide to sign a player, we will be happy and welcome him. If they decide not to sign anyone, then we will have to do something special with this team,” he said.