Mohamed Salah’s future at Liverpool came under sharper scrutiny on Saturday when the forward said he felt he had been “thrown under the bus” by the club, a claim that prompted former Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney to argue that the Egypt international is “destroying his legacy”.
Salah, 33, has not started Liverpool’s past three matches and remained an unused substitute during the 3–3 draw at Leeds United. After the match at Elland Road he told reporters that his relationship with head coach Arne Slot had suddenly “broken down” and that he believed “someone wanted me to get all of the blame”.
Rooney, speaking on his latest podcast, said Slot now needed to show authority by leaving Salah out of Tuesday’s Champions League match at Inter Milan and Saturday’s home fixture against Brighton. “Arne Slot has to show his authority and pull him in and say ‘you are not travelling with the team, what you said is not acceptable’,” Rooney said. “Take yourself off to Afcon and let everything calm down. If I was him there would be no way he would be in the team.”
Rooney added that Salah must either resolve the dispute with Slot or leave Anfield altogether. “It needs to be sorted out quickly either way,” he said.
Salah, who joined Liverpool from Roma in 2017 and signed a new two year deal in April, has scored 250 goals in 420 appearances for the club and was central to last season’s Premier League title win with 29 league goals. This campaign he has four goals in 13 Premier League matches as Liverpool sit ninth, ten points behind leaders Arsenal.
Rooney questioned the motivation behind Salah’s public frustration. “He is absolutely destroying his legacy at Liverpool,” he said. “It would be sad for him to throw it all away. He has gone about it all wrong.”
He also rejected Salah’s assertion that he did not need to fight for his place. “Time catches up with all of us, and this season he has not looked at his best,” Rooney said. “To have the arrogance to say he does not have to earn his place, you need to be at your best every week. If I was one of his team-mates, I would not be happy at all with what he said because this is where Liverpool need him most. If anything, he has thrown Liverpool under the bus with his words.”
Rooney suggested Salah’s comments could create tension within the squad. “I would imagine he will be very quiet around the training ground and that will bring a negative energy in itself to the new players Arne has bedded in,” he said. “I am sure over the next couple of years he will regret saying what he has.”
