The Reds centre-back wants recognition after making the Champions League and World Cup finals in the same season Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren insists he should be recognised as ‘one of the best defenders in the world’ after helping Croatia seal a place in the World Cup final. 3 Dejan Lovren played perhaps the game of his life against England Lovren made the stunning claim following England’s heartbreaking semi-final exit at the hands of the Croats, who scored in extra-time to seal a 2-1 victory. It means the Reds centre-back will play in the World Cup final against France on Sunday. Lovren is often seen as Liverpool’s weak-link in their defence and gets constant stick from fans, with some keen for the club to sign a replacement defender this summer. But after securing his place in the Champions League and World Cup finals in the same season, Lovren insists he should be rated as one of the world’s best players. World Cup latest on talkSPORT.com change FIFA considering proposals to hold men's and women's World Cup every two years Speaking to beIN Sports after Wednesday’s win over England, Lovren said: “It’s something special for me. “From my point of view, people said I had a difficult season but I don’t agree. “I took Liverpool to the final of the Champions League. Now with my national team we are in the final. “I think people should recognise that I am also one of the best defenders in the world and not just talk nonsense.” 3 Lovren tasted defeat with Liverpool in the Champions League final against Real Madrid Croatia captain Luka Modric hailed the team’s journey to the World Cup final as the biggest moment in the history of Croatian sport. And Lovren believes the Real Madrid midfielder – who ran the show for Croatia in the second half after England dominated the opening 45 minutes – should win this year’s Ballon d’Or. “This is something that we will never forget”, he added. “People are crying and are happy in our country now. This is something historical for us. “We will never forget this. We beat our record from 20 years ago. We had this weight on our shoulders all the time. Now people will never forget us. 3 Modric controlled the game for Croatia “Now we have a chance to do something even better and hopefully we can do it on Sunday. “Modric is the best midfield player in the world and if we win this World Cup he deserves the Ballon d’Or.”<doc-sep>Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren has admitted the club are ‘not happy’ to have had him return from the World Cup nursing an injury, as reported by Goal. The 29-year old centre half starred for Croatia throughout the World Cup as Vetreni reached the final of the tournament, with Lovren having pushed himself beyond breaking point for his country. Now back with Liverpool, lasting effects from the summer’s tournament has meant Lovren hasn’t been able to join training ahead of the new Premier League season, with Liverpool due to face West Ham on Sunday. While Lovren accepts that his absence is frustrating for the club, there is no way he can play through the pain barrier. Talking to Sportske Novosti, he said: I cannot train at all because of stomach muscle issues. I am suffering a lot of pain and will see a specialist doctor in the Netherlands. When did I start to feel it? I felt it during the World Cup. I played with pain and those three games killed me. But who wouldn’t play for Croatia at such a big tournament! After the World Cup finished, the pain increased. I can’t even sit in my car without feeling it and to get out of the car hurts like hell! I’d always grit my teeth and play for Croatia, but now I am paying the price. But no price is too high for what we achieved in Russia. When quizzed on Liverpool’s reaction to him returning with an issue, Lovren continued: Of course, they are not happy. I haven’t trained since I returned from holiday. I can’t. I’ll reassess things after seeing the doctor in Netherlands. I have to deal with that for now and believe it will be OK. I hoped it would pass during my holiday, but it didn’t. As I went for a swim, it hurt. I couldn’t even rest normally. Lovren, who is in his fourth year with the club since signing from Southampton in 2014, also claims he is happy at the club. When asked about a potential exit from the Reds, Lovren said:<doc-sep>Dejan Lovren, one of the best defenders in the world (hey, don't look at us) has reportedly earned a rebuke from Liverpool over his failure to properly report a stomach injury through which he played through at the World Cup. Speaking to Croatian outlet Sportske Novosti, Lovren confirmed that he faces an injury layoff at Liverpool as a result of a stomach muscle injury he sustained during the World Cup. Lovren said that the pain has got worse since the competition ended and is now going to see a specialist in Holland over the injury. I cannot train at all because of stomach muscle issues. I am suffering a lot of pain and will see a specialist doctor in the Netherlands. When did I start to feel it? I felt it during the World Cup. I played with pain and those three games killed me. But who wouldn't play for Croatia at such a big tournament! After the World Cup finished, the pain increased. I can't even sit in my car without feeling it and to get out of the car hurts like hell! I'd always grit my teeth and play for Croatia, but now I am paying the price. But no price is too high for what we achieved in Russia. Lovren oddly chose not to tell Liverpool about the issue, instead playing through pain and then jetting off on holidays. He then returned to pre-season training at Melwood last week to tell his employers that he couldn't train, such was the pain. The centre-back confirmed that Liverpool are unhappy. Advertisement Of course, they are not happy. I haven’t trained since I returned from holiday. I can't. I'll reassess things after seeing the doctor in Netherlands. I have to deal with that for now and believe it will be OK. I hoped it would pass during my holiday, but it didn't. As I went for a swim, it hurt. I couldn't even rest normally. Liverpool start the season very short at centre-back: Joel Matip is injured again, a is Ragnar Klavan. Jurgen Klopp hopes to pair Virgil Van Dijk with Joe Gomez against West Ham tomorrow afternoon, but Gomez himself is carrying a knock. Should he not make it, Klopp will have to turn to novice Nat Phillips.<doc-sep>Get our LFC newsletter for the best Reds coverage Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up now Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Jurgen Klopp insists Liverpool centre-back Dejan Lovren is right to rank himself among the best defenders on the planet. The Croatia international made the bullish statement after helping to knock England out of the World Cup at the semi-final stage. Lovren will line up against France in Sunday's World Cup final - some seven weeks after excelling in the Champions League final for the Reds. Asked if he agreed with Lovren, Klopp said: "Yes. It would be better if somebody else would say that and not Dejan! But actually he’s right. “People don’t think about that, but if you go into detail it’s not a big surprise that Croatia are where they are. They don’t have world class full-backs, but in the end they don’t concede. "They are offensive in the midfield with Rakitic, Brozovic, Modric, so somebody needs to fix all that. Dejan is a big part of that. “He was for us in the Champions League final, two years ago he was in the Europa League final, yes he didn’t win that. In the Champions League final, I didn’t see two better centre-halves than him – only more ruthless. That’s the thing. (Image: Anthony Devlin/PA Wire) “For me it’s no surprise. He played a really good World Cup, but to do it consistently is more important. We will work together for a long time, so I will have the opportunity to help him. Next time I will say it!"<doc-sep>
Dejan Lovren insists he deserves to be rated as one of the greatest defenders on the planet after helping Croatia to dump England out of the World Cup. The Liverpool defender will line up in Sunday's final against France after shining in Wednesday night's 2-1 win over Gareth Southgate's side after extra time. "It's something special for me," Lovren told beIN Sports. "From my point of view, people said I had a difficult season but I don't agree. "I took Liverpool to the final of the Champions League. Now with my national team we are in the final. "I think people should recognise that I am also one of the best defenders in the world and not just talk nonsense." Lovren admitted that Croatia were second best before they took control after the interval. "It was quite tough in the first half. We couldn't control the ball," he added. "They had some good chances but in the second half we did much better. We took spaces on the side and found some good crosses. "In extra time we showed that even with fatigue we were still able to play our game. "This is something that we will never forget. People are crying and are happy in our country now. This is something historical for us. "We will never forget this. We beat our record from 20 years ago. We had this weight on our shoulders all the time. Now people will never forget us. "Now we have a chance to do something even better and hopefully we can do it on Sunday. "(Luka) Modric is the best midfield player in the world and if we win this World Cup he deserves the Ballon d'Or."