Wayne Rooney believes Mohamed Salah has tarnished his achievements at Liverpool following his explosive comments about Arne Slott. The Egyptian forward has cast serious doubts over his future at Anfield with comments suggesting he no longer enjoys a relationship with the Dutch manager. Salah also claimed he felt “thrown under the bus” by the club and hinted he could leave in January.
These comments left Salah in a very precarious position at Anfield. There has been discussion over his possible departure, with Saudi Arabian clubs known to have had a long-standing interest in signing the player. Manchester United legend Rooney echoed similar sentiments, insisting Salah’s interview should never have taken place.
Speaking on the Wayne Rooney Show, he said: “Arn Slott has to show his authority and bring him in and say, ‘You’re not traveling with the team, what you say is not acceptable.’
“Go to AFCON and let everything calm down. If it were me, there’s no way he’d be in the team. Either way, it needs to be resolved quickly.”
“He’s trying to completely destroy his legacy at Liverpool. It would be sad for him to throw it all away. He’s been doing it all wrong.”
Salah’s outburst came during a difficult campaign for both Liverpool and the Egyptian himself. The Reds suffered a disastrous defeat in defending their title and currently sit in ninth place in the Premier League, already 10 points behind leaders Arsenal.
Salah, 33, has scored just five goals in 19 appearances in all competitions and has been in such poor form in the last three games that he has been slotted to the bench.
Rooney suggests this is inevitable given Salah’s age and predicts that Salah will soon regret his outspokenness.
He added: “Time catches up with us all, but this season he hasn’t been at his best, he hasn’t been at his sharpest. You want to see him roll up his sleeves and say, ‘Okay, I’ll show you.’
“To have the arrogance of saying he doesn’t need to earn a position because he has already earned it, he needs to do his best every week to stay in the team.
“If I were one of his team-mates I wouldn’t be happy with what he said at all, because this is where Liverpool need him the most. If anything, his words threw Liverpool under the bus.”
“He has been a really great addition to Liverpool and this was disrespectful to his team-mates, the manager and the fans.
“He’s going to be very quiet around the practice field and that in itself will bring a negative energy to the new players that Arne has brought in. I think in the next few years he will regret saying what he thinks.”
