Former Liverpool players Craig Bellamy and Steve McMahon were at loggerheads over a current star live on TV.
The pair, who played over 250 games between them for Liverpool, were appearing as guests on Sky Sports’ The Debate on Wednesday night.
The main topic up for discussion was the PFA Premier League team of the season as Bellamy and McMahon were tasked with choosing their own joint best XI.
And the show certainly lived up to its name as tensions grew between the pair, particularly when McMahon insisted Reds defender Virgil van Dijk should have been included instead of Manchester City’s Nicolas Otamendi.
The debate raged as McMahon argued van Dijk deserved to be in the team of the year based on his performances for Liverpool since signing for a world record fee from Southampton in January.
But Bellamy and host Geoff Shreeves angered McMahon by dismissing the suggestion out of hand.
“Otamendi is an accident waiting to happen… a liability at times, he takes too many chances,” McMahon told The Debate.
“My choice is van Dijk. People are going to be looking at this and saying ‘Oh Macca, Liverpool, Liverpool’ but I can only see it the way it is.”
Bellamy then cut in saying: “He hasn’t played, he actually got dropped from Southampton at the start of the season because his form was poor…he wasn’t playing well.”
That seemed to light the touch paper for McMahon who came out all guns blazing in defence of his pick.
“He didn’t get dropped, right! He was left out because of the ongoing concerns.. because his head was all over the place, because he knew the pending move to Liverpool not because he was rubbish and because he’s not good enough, he’s actually sensational.”
Bellamy interjected again: “Yea but you’re going off Liverpool form now… he’s a brilliant player, I like him… but I just don’t think he’s played well enough through the year to deserve a place in that team.”
“Liverpool have been transformed into a possible Champions League finalist because of him. There’s mitigating circumstances, he was all over the place at Southampton because he wants away, but he’s a top quality player who just needed to move.
“He’c class, he’s on the ball, he now talks, he’s pulling and pushing people about which Liverpool wanted.”
But Bellamy once again reminded McMahon they were picking for the team of the ‘SEASON’.
“We’re not talking the best player of the last three months, we’re talking player of the year (in that position).”
Bellamy suggested Burnley defender James Tarkowski instead and against McMahon’s wishes Shreeves adjudicated he deserved a place ahead of van Dijk.
Moments later McMahon got heated again when he said Andy Robertson deserved the left-back spot over Chelsea’s ‘average’ Marcos Alonso, snapping at Shreeves for suggesting it was only because he played for Liverpool.
Safe to say, Bellamy and Shreeves let McMahon have that one.
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