Andy Cole has doubled down on his unhappiness at being compared to Darwin Nunez as he admitted to being "mystified" by Liverpool signing Cody Gakpo.
Nunez arrived at Anfield from Benfica in the summer, in what was a club-record move for the Reds. Though he has scored 10 goals in all competitions this term, he has faced some criticism for some of the chances he has missed.
Some on social media had compared the Uruguayan international to former Manchester United star Cole. Those comparisons angered the Premier League legend, who hit back at the suggestions that Nunez was a similar to how he had been as a player.
"Cole... Nunez... Not sure where this nonsense started. But it is Christmas, the festival season... I am happily retired. Five Premier Leagues, two FA Cups, one League Cup, one Champions League, golden boot, Young Player of the Year," he tweeted.
"187 Premier League goals, one penalty. Life is what you make it. Worded wrongly or rightly... People need to stop disrespecting my name because I don't play the game. Just a quiet guy getting on with life and people think they can disrespect me. Look at the numbers and compare them to anyone else."
Cole has now doubled down on his opinion of the "disrespectful" comparisons between himself and Nunez, though he declined to give the striker any advice about how to perform.
HAVE YOUR SAY! How would you rate Darwin Nunez's first six months at Liverpool? Comment below.
“To be fair I wouldn’t give him any advice. Everyone on social media wants to give him advice. Someone said they put him in the same bracket as me and I said to myself I find that very, very disrespectful," Cole told Casinos En Ligne.
"Nunez is a totally different player to me. He tried to mention that he gets himself in positions but doesn’t finish off his chances. You never know what’s going through a certain individual’s mind, what he’s struggling with.
"He’s robust, he’s strong, he gets in great positions but for some reason his finishing is lacking at the present moment.”
Cole has also questioned Liverpool 's decision to sign Gakpo for £40m from PSV Eindhoven. The attacker joined the Reds at the start of the January window, after Liverpool were able to hijack Manchester United's move for him.
Gakpo scored 13 goals and notched 17 assists this season for PSV before departing for Anfield. He made his debut for his new club in the FA Cup draw against Wolves, though Cole has admitted to being left confused by the move.
He added: “Wow I’m really not sure what happened there. All reports before and during the World Cup said the same thing, that he was headed for Manchester United. What happened after that? I’m as mystified as everybody else.”
