Mohamed Salah is ‘DESTROYING’ his Liverpool legacy: Wayne Rooney savages offended Anfield hero after explosive Leeds rant – and says there’s ‘no approach’ Arne Slot ought to let him again within the staff
Mohamed Salah is ‘destroying’ his Liverpool legacy and is acting out of ‘arrogance,’ according to Wayne Rooney.
Rooney has called on Arne Slot to leave Salah out of his squads to face Inter Milan and Brighton this week after the winger’s outburst.
Salah sent shockwaves through world football on Saturday night when he said he had been ‘thrown under the bus’ and has no relationship with Slot after being benched three games in a row.
The 33-year-old Egyptian, who was handed a new £400,000-per-week deal earlier this year, warned that the Brighton game at Anfield on Saturday could be his ‘goodbye’ to the fans.
Rooney said on his BBC podcast: ‘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.”
‘Take yourself off to AFCON [the Africa Cup of Nations] and let everything calm down. If I was him there would be no way he would be in the team. It needs to be sorted out quickly either way.
Mohamed Salah is ‘destroying’ his stellar legacy at Liverpool, according to Wayne Rooney
Rooney says that Slot has to drop Salah for their fixtures against Inter Milan and Brighton
‘He is absolutely destroying his legacy at Liverpool. It would be sad for him to throw it all away. He’s gone about it all wrong.
‘Time catches up with all of us, and this season he hasn’t looked as his best, at his sharpest. You want to see him roll his sleeves up and say “ok then, I’ll show you.”
‘To have the arrogance to say he doesn’t have to earn his place because he has already earned his place, you need to be at your best every week to try and stay in the team.
‘If I was one of his team-mates, I wouldn’t 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.
‘He’s been absolutely incredible for Liverpool, but this was disrespectful to his team-mates, manager and fans.
‘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.
‘I am sure over the next couple of years he will regret saying what he has.’
Salah sought out reporters in the mixed zone after Liverpool’s collapse against Leeds to draw 3-3 at Elland Road.
Salah said he is ‘not fighting for his position every day’ because he has already ‘earned it’
He spent the entire game on the bench meaning that in Liverpool’s last three games against West Ham, Sunderland, and Leeds, he played a cumulative 45 minutes.
It has been widely acknowledged that Salah’s performance levels have significantly dipped in recent months, despite his protestations otherwise.
He has still scored four goals in the Premier League – only one fewer than their top scorer Hugo Ekitike – but by this stage last campaign he had 13 in the same competition.
Salah denied being a problem in the team, but stated ‘someone wants me to get all the blame and that ‘someone does not want me in the club’.
‘I could not believe I was sitting on the bench for 90 minutes,’ he said. ‘That’s the third time. It’s the first time in my career I think.
‘(I am) very disappointed, I have done so much for this club over the years, especially last season. It seems like the club has thrown me under the bus. That’s how I feel.
‘Someone wants me to get all the blame. The club promised me a lot in summer. Now I’m on bench so I can say they haven’t kept those promises.
‘I used to have a good relationship (with manager Slot). Now we don’t have any relationship and I don’t know why.
Salah has won two Premier League titles and a Champions League but risks damaging his relationship with the fanbase
‘It seems like someone does not want me in the club.
‘I called my mum and dad and told them to come to the Brighton game. It doesn’t matter if I play or not. I’m going to enjoy it. I’m just going to be at Anfield and say goodbye to the fans before the African Cup of Nations, because I don’t know what is going to happen when I am there.
‘It’s not acceptable to me to be fair. If I was somewhere else, every club would protect its players. Now, it’s “Throw Mo under the bus because he is a problem in a team”. I don’t think I am a problem.
‘I am not fighting for my position every day because I have earned it. I am not bigger than the club. I am not bigger than anything. But I have earned it.’
Salah refused to answer a question about interest from clubs in Saudi Arabia.
With 366 goal contributions for the Reds as per Transfermarkt, there is no doubting that Salah is a Liverpool legend.
His glowing CV contains two Premier League titles and a Champions League but he would not be the first Anfield icon to suffer an awkward exit.
The likes of Michael Owen, Steve McManaman, and Philippe Coutinho all saw their relationship with fans break down amid their departures.
This is not the first time Salah has broken ranks. He has done it several times since joining Liverpool in 2017.
Last season, Daily Mail Sport was on the scene in Southampton when he sensationally announced that he was ‘more out than in’ while his contract saga was ongoing.
