Thiago Alcantara’s move to Liverpool in the summer was seen at the time as a match made in heaven.
So far, however, it has rather proven to be ‘meme heaven’ for opposition fans who have been quick to pounce on the Spaniard’s lack of goals or assists since his move to Merseyside.
The move has also coincided with the Reds’ worst form for years, which has seen the defending champions slip out of the Premier League’s top five.
This has led to fans of Liverpool’s rivals making the midfielder the centre of attention on social media after every poor Reds result in recent weeks.
Even opposition clubs like Everton haven’t been able to resist having a go at Thiago this season.
Things only got worse this weekend after the Toffees inflicted Liverpool’s fourth straight loss at Anfield.
And of course, social media immediately zoned in on Liverpool’s unfortunate signing, trolling his particular quirks on the field – thumbs-ups, pointing and ‘idea’ balls.
One Twitter User even labelled him as ‘Pointius Pilate’ a play on the name of the former ruler of the Roman.
Another savagely posted that Thiago had “completed the most pointed fingers against Everton.”
Take a look at some of the best tweets:
https://twitter.com/ASI17_/status/1363208441569964032
Thiago Tempo has led to:
68 home unbeaten record being broken
4th consecutive home defeat for the 1st time in nearly a century
1st Merseyside derby home defeat in over 2 decades
But hey, ideal passes and 'you touch, I touch' 👍— Philani Magagula (@PhilxniMagagula) February 20, 2021
Thiago since joining Liverpool:
14 games
4 wins
0 goals
0 assists
425 thumbs up pic.twitter.com/VoIVt3HP2r— Footy Humour (@FootyHumour) February 20, 2021
Thiago : “ I see , I saw, I pass the ball it went . That’s a great idea” pic.twitter.com/biT4LscPbi
— Dr Sneaker Nyame (@SneakerNyame_) February 20, 2021
Thiago – 17 idea balls, 9 eye deceptions, 0 points
James Rodriguez – 1 assist, 3 pointspic.twitter.com/aGpli6xVqS
— Ian Irvine (@irvine75) February 20, 2021
https://twitter.com/TriniOfArabia/status/1363209332406575114
