5 top-class players who have made Jamie Carragher eat his words: Nunez, Haaland…
Stars from Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United are among the players who’ve made Jamie Carragher eat his words over the years.
The former Liverpool defender usually tends to be on the money with his predictions and analysis, but like all of us, he is guilty of dropping the ball every now and again.
We’ve gone back through Carragher’s punditry career and have found five players who’ve made him eat his words over the years.
Darwin Nunez
The erratic Liverpool forward certainly isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but every now and again he can produce a moment of brilliance.
Having endured a difficult start to life under Arne Slot, we can hardly begrudge Carragher from wanting to cash in on the 25-year-old amid interest from Saudi Arabia.
“I would take the risk of selling him,” Carragher recently said on The Overlap when discussing Nunez.
“Under Jurgen Klopp he was alright, it wasn’t great but it was okay because of that mad football, he would use his pace and have loads of shots.
“It’s a bit more slow and measured [under Arne Slot] and he’s almost just standing there, it’s not ideal for him.”
Nunez hasn’t taken those comments lying down as just a few days after Carragher made those comments, he bagged a dramatic late brace against Brentford to secure all three points for Liverpool. Talk about clutch.
READ: 8 players who unexpectedly came up clutch in a Premier League title race
Lisandro Martinez
After a slow start to life in Manchester, Carragher went in hard on the Argentine defender and claimed he was too small to be a success in the Premier League.
“Now, we should never judge managers or players too early, but I’m convinced this can’t work because the size of him playing in a back four,” Carragher told Sky Sports in August 2022.
“Maybe he could go left-back, maybe he could play in a back three, but in a back four, he cannot play there in the Premier League.”
However, a few months later down the line, Carragher changed his tune on Martinez after the United defender had started to prove his worth under Erik ten Hag.
“I think he’s been brilliant,” Carragher said on the Overlap in February 2023.
“To be that small and play at centre-back, you’ve obviously got to be a special player, a good player.
“I didn’t think someone of that size could cope in the Premier League, and he has coped. I think he’s been brilliant. I think he’s been a big part of [United’s spirit].”
Erling Haaland
In February 2023, Carragher questioned whether Haaland had signed for the wrong club as Pep Guardiola’s side didn’t play to his main strengths.
“I think we’ve only seen 60 per cent of Erling Haaland,” Carragher told Sky Sports.
“He’s come from a counter-attacking league [the Bundesliga] where it’s end to end. You saw his blistering pace there – we don’t see it here.
“He might have picked the wrong club to actually get the best out of him.”
Carragher made those comments on the back of Man City losing 1-0 against Tottenham, but he was quickly made to eat his words.
Following that defeat, City went on to win 14 of their next 15 league matches and Haaland broke the Premier League scoring record with 36 strikes.
The Norwegian star has since penned a nine-and-a-half-year deal with the club which will keep him in Manchester until 2034.
It’s safe to say that Haaland doesn’t have any regrets about signing for City.
READ NEXT: Where are they now? Mohamed Salah’s three ‘dream’ team-mates from 2023
TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every player to get 20+ Premier League assists for Liverpool?
Marc Cucurella
His reputation seemed like it was at an all-time low heading into Euro 2024, but boy has Cucurella proven his doubters wrong since then.
“I think Saka can have [Cucurella] on toast, don’t worry about that,” Carragher said in the build-up to the Euro 2024 final.
“I’ve seen that so often in the Premier League. We’ve seen it before, he gives him huge problems.”
Despite Carragher’s confidence in Saka, it was Cucurella who had the final laugh.
Saka didn’t complete a single dribble in the Euro 2024 final and Cucurella ended up assisting Mikel Oyarzabal for the winning goal. Ouch.
The entire Nottingham Forest squad
Prior to the 2024-25 campaign kicking off, Carragher had predicted Forest to be relegated alongside Southampton and Leicester.
Fast forward to January and Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are now *checks notes* third in the Premier League and 25 points above the relegation zone.
In fairness to Carra, none of us saw this coming from Forest.