Southampton Legend Welcomes Record Signing to Club, Takes Cheeky Dig at Liverpool
Southampton legend Matt Le Tissier has combined sending a 'welcome' message to new Saints midfielder Mario Lemina with a cheeky dig at Liverpool's history of stealing many of the best players who make a name for themselves at St Mary's.
Southampton announced the arrival of Lemina from in a club record deal believed to be worth in excess of £18m on Tuesday night, and Le Tissier was quick to tweet on the subject.
"Welcome to Southampton, Mario Lemina, and good luck on your next move to Liverpool next year," was the tongue in cheek message of support.
Liverpool have signed the likes of Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Nathienl Clyne and Sadio Mane from the Saints since 2014 and have been involved in a very messy pursuit of centre-back Virgil van Dijk since the end of last season.
Liverpool publicly apologised to Southampton and claimed they would formally withdraw their interest after accusations of tapping up earlier this summer, but it hasn't stopped the player pushing for a move and openly submitting a transfer request.
Picking up on the fact that Van Dijk committed himself to Southampton only last year, Le Tissier has been very vocal on the ongoing saga after the Dutchman released a statement earlier this week explaining he is seeking a 'new challenge'.
"Why sign a 6 yr contract here if he was that ambitious," was the reply to one Twitter user who suggested the 48-year-old couldn't understand the Dutchman's 'ambition' because he always remained loyal to Southampton despite offers from elsewhere.
Le Tissier actually seemed to hint he turned down a move to Liverpool himself during his own career, answering "Little do you know" to one person who suggested 'Le God' would himself have accepted a move to Liverpool if they had offered a big sum back in the day.
