Bengaluru, June 29: Former Liverpool striker and very much a forgotten man at Anfield El-Hadji Diouf has once again launched an attack on his former captain and Liverpool icon Steven Gerrard who is now serving the club of his life as the under-18 manager.

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During an interview with BBC, the Senegalese star claimed that Gerrard never did anything for his country England whereas he is a national icon and even compared himself to legendary Diego Maradona.

Diouf, who plied his trade for Liverpool between 2002 and 2005, has been critical of Gerrard in the past, and has also spoken out against former teammate Jamie Carragher.

Now, Diouf says that while Gerrard may been an integral figure for Liverpool, the 114-time capped international failed to deliver with England.

"I have no problem with him," the retired Senegal international said. "Gerrard is a strong character and I am a strong character."

"'Stevie G' was a very good player, people like him in Liverpool but he never did anything for his country."

"I am Mr. El Hadji Diouf, Mr. Senegal, but he is Mr. Liverpool and Senegal is bigger than Liverpool and he has to know that."

Liverpool signed Diouf from Lens for £10 million prior to an impressive 2002 World Cup campaign with Senegal -- where they reached the quarterfinals in the tournament hosted by South Korea and Japan.

"We put Senegal on the world map," he added. "Before the World Cup nobody knew Senegal, but after the World Cup everybody wanted to know where Senegal was."

"What [Diego] Maradona did for his country [Argentina] is what I did for Senegal. I was one of the biggest men at the 2002 World Cup."

Even though Diouf has shown that he is a master when it is about talking to media, he certainly could not do justice on the pitch during his time in English football, especially at Liverpool.

Diouf's two seasons at Liverpool were unsuccessful and replete with controversy, including one incident in which he spat at Celtic supporters in 2003.

He is the only player in the club's history who wore the No. 9 shirt to go through an entire season without scoring a goal.

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