Liverpool face fresh internal turmoil ahead of their vital final fixture against Brentford, with Wayne Rooney accusing Mohamed Salah of “selfish” behaviour. The ex-England captain has called on Arne Slot to draw a line in the sand and drop the departing winger following his public criticisms of the manager’s tactical identity.
There is tension building at Liverpool after a campaign of disappointing performances, which could see the Reds just squeeze inside the top five for next year’s Champions League season, though they haven’t gone about it easily.
Qualification could have been wrapped up a few weeks ago, though a 1-1 draw at Anfield with Chelsea and a 4-2 defeat at Villa Park mean there is work to do on the final game of the year against Brentford, who beat Arne Slot’s side 3-2 in the reserve fixture in October.
To add further fuel to the fire, Mohamed Salah came out with a statement on social media, advising the team to revert to ‘heavy metal football’, and saying that getting into the Champions League next season is ‘the bare minimum’.
Many pundits and supporters believe this is a final shot at the Dutch head coach as he sees himself out the door next week. Reports suggest that Slot will remain in his position next season, with faith from higher-ups, though the fan disconnect is very much alive, with an increasing majority tired of how his side plays.
This isn’t the first time this season that the Egyptian King has come out and criticised the 47-year-old and a host of higher-ups at the club, mainly Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards.
Back at the beginning of December, following their 3-3 draw away at Leeds, Salah spoke in the mixed zone and said, ‘someone doesn’t want me at the club’, and his relationship with Slot had altered significantly. Just like now, some people agreed with what he had to say, and others disagreed.
One of the pundits who has come to the defence of the Dutchman in his latest statement is Wayne Rooney on the BBC’s The Wayne Rooney Show. The Englishman wasn’t pleased with the way Salah had come out with this statement to make the Liverpool head coach look bad.
He said, “I just think for (Mohamed) Salah to come out and aim another dig at Arne Slot, whether Arne Slot’s there next season or not, I think it’s really disappointing.”
For Kopites is extremely upsetting to watch the situation the club is in at the moment. Even for the people who trust the head coach to turn things around, panic will begin to set in if things do go wrong next season, finding themselves back at square one. It’s also upsetting to see a club legend who has constantly delivered in a Liverpool shirt leave in the way this is spiralling out of control.
Egypt forward Salah, 33, will leave Liverpool at the end of the season after scoring 257 goals and helping the club to six major trophies in nine years – but Rooney said he would drop him for Sunday’s farewell.
The fans inside Anfield will be planning on giving him a spectacular goodbye, at least if Slot doesn’t listen to Rooney’s comments. He said, “If I was Arne Slot, I’d have him nowhere near the stadium in the last game.”
The Merseyside club have given a send-off to a player or coach stretching back to 2022, when Divock Origi said his goodbyes to Anfield. It would be a shame not to see the man who led the charge both domestically and on European soil for the club because of his statement.
The scouser spoke about how he was not included in the squad for Sir Alex Ferguson’s last game as Manchester United manager due to a falling out with the Scotsman. While he may believe he was right about the situation, he said he had to respect his boss despite the disagreement. He claims that what Salah has done is destructive for the club.
“He’s almost just dropped a grenade and said he doesn’t trust and believe in Arne Slot. And almost thrown his teammates, who are going to be there next season, and let them deal with that as well and put them into a position. I just think it’s sad.”
There are plenty of opinions on what occurred on the weekend regarding what was said on social media, whether the 33-year-old is right or wrong, though no one truly knows what the feeling is like in the dressing room or the place from where Salah’s message is coming from. The Egyptian must believe he is doing the right thing, and with the work and relationships he’s built, it’s tough to accept he has simply hung his teammates out to dry.
The next step will to see what the Dutchman has to say in his pre match Brentford press conference later this week, as all the eyes of Liverpool supporters will be watching intensely to see what he has to say, and if he reveals anything on his plans for Salah on Sunday.
