A friendly match descended into open conflict inside the Liverpool camp, with three of the club's stars caught in a fierce row over the captain's armband. The scene exposed hidden tensions that could cloud Liverpool's start to the new campaign.
British newspaper "The Telegraph" reported that the dispute erupted after Liverpool's 1-0 win over Wrexham last Thursday. Curtis Jones, Kostas Tsimikas and Dominik Szoboszlai entered into a public argument, which ended with the Greek player ripping off the armband and throwing it to the ground.
At the root of it all was Szoboszlai's decision to hand the armband to Tsimikas after being substituted in the 75th minute. That choice angered Jones, especially given that the Greek spent last season on loan at Roma and had been little more than a substitute across his five years at the club.
"The Telegraph" described the decision as "strange", noting that Szoboszlai, who aspires to become the team's new vice-captain, "should have expected the uproar this act would cause".
Jones's own future adds another layer to the crisis. He faces a possible exit after Inter Milan submitted a third offer worth 35 million euros, though Liverpool are holding firm and refuse to accept less than 40 million euros.
Confronted by journalists about the incident at Friday's press conference, the Hungarian dodged a direct answer. "We are all in the same boat, and we want the best for the club and for each other," he said. "We have a captain, Virgil van Dijk, and we will abide by everything he and the manager say".
He added: "We may not be the oldest in the team, but we have been here a long time. We want to achieve success this season, it is a long-term project because we have a new manager and the team has changed".
The timing could hardly be worse. Liverpool prepare to play their final friendly in the United States against Leeds on Sunday, still trying to restore balance after a disappointing season that ended in fifth place domestically and a Champions League quarter-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain.