Mohamed Salah has been heavily scrutinised for his latest comments that could disrupt Liverpool's end to the season. The Egyptian star is at the centre of a fresh storm as Liverpool prepare to wrap up their campaign against Brentford. The Reds are still reeling from a second loss in three Premier League outings and have gone almost a month without a win.
Carragher labels Salah as 'selfish'
After previously suggesting he's been 'thrown under the bus' by Slot in December, Salah has taken aim at his chief once again. The Egyptian came off the bench for only the last 15 minutes or so as Liverpool lost 4-2 away to Aston Villa. But it was Salah's social media commentary after the game that drew criticism. He started off by calling the latest loss 'very painful' before praising Jurgen Klopp's 'heavy metal' football, which appeared to be a thinly veiled dig at the current product fans are seeing under Slot.
'I want to see Liverpool go back to being the heavy metal attacking team that opponents fear and back to being a team that wins trophies,' he continued. 'That is the football I know how to play and that is the identity that needs to be recovered and kept for good. It cannot be negotiable and everyone that joins this club should adapt to it.' Salah went on to say making it back into the Champions League next term is the 'bare minimum.'
Jamie Carragher was critical of the club icon following his rant in December after he was dropped for the 3-3 draw against Leeds. And he once again took aim at his fellow Kop legend, suggesting the timing of his 'selfish' remarks was woeful given the race for Champions League qualification.
'I'm not surprised,' said Carragher on Sky Sports. 'I told everybody, 'Something else will come before the end of the season. He'll drop another bomb a little bit like Ronaldo did on the way out of Manchester United.' I thought it may come after the end of the season when he'd moved on, but no. Less than two years ago, I called him selfish for doing an interview and I think that rings true again. Liverpool have a really important week. They are still not fully qualified for the Champions League and it should be about Liverpool FC, not Salah FC. It's vital that Liverpool make the Champions League positions, but I'm not surprised and it's not a good look at all.'
Riise joins in Salah criticism
Another member of the 2005 Champions League-winning squad to join in the chorus of criticism was John Arne Riise. The retired left-back piggybacked on Carragher's comments and revealed his frustration that Salah couldn't hide his personal grudge for one more week, at least.
'It annoys me that Mohamed Salah couldn’t at least wait until the season was finished before saying those things,' Riise told Bet Victor Online Casino. 'Everyone knows he’s leaving, so why not just keep those opinions to yourself until the end? Or why say them at all? I’ve read what Wayne Rooney said and what Jamie Carragher said, and honestly, I understand why people are reacting the way they are... I’ve met Mo Salah a few times and I’ve always seen him as a lovely person: smiley, friendly, respectful and someone who looks after people. That’s why I can’t really understand these comments. It almost feels like a different person writing them. If it’s a PR team advising him to do these things and make his name bigger than the club, then that’s wrong because Liverpool Football Club will always be bigger than any player. Always.'
The Norwegian then commented on Rooney's suggestion that Salah won't start against Brentford in light of his outburst. Many would expect the Anfield icon to be given a send-off as a starter in his last game but Riise believes he'll continue in a bench role.
'To be honest, I agree with Rooney on that point,' he continued. 'I don’t understand why Arne Slot would allow a player to publicly criticise the team and then still give him a big send-off in the final game. Why would the manager reward that behaviour after the things that have been said? I would genuinely be surprised if Mohamed Salah starts the final game.'
