They say you should keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
This is true most of the time; enemies are awful and can do some truly terrible things to you, so it makes sense to keep them nearby so you can be aware of any scheming going on.
Friends though, as brilliant as they are, can also be pretty awful at times. What with them knowing you and being close to you, they have access to pertinent information which can make you look and feel like a fool from time to time.
Dejan Lovren will be able to empathise with this point of view today, after his compatriot and friend Mateo Kovacic mugged him off spectacularly.
Kovacic, the Croatian midfielder who is currently on loan at Chelsea, was being interviewed this week when he was asked whether Liverpool - who alongside Chelsea and Manchester City are unbeaten in the league after 12 games - could win the league.
Rather than be polite and uncontroversial and utter the usual boring line, Kovacic decided to say this: "Liverpool will not be English champions. Why? Because they have Dejan Lovren".
Now, while Kovacic was almost certainly taking the piss with this remark, it remains both refreshing and incredibly harsh on his good friend.
Still beats him saying "well, y'know, Liverpool are a very good team. They have a solid defence and one of the best forward lines around, so they'll definitely be there or there abouts come the end of the season" though.
