Jamie Carragher responds to Liverpool star Mohamed Salah’s comments in an interview that has generated a lot of headlines
Jamie Carragher answered Mohamed Salah’s latest interview for over eight minutes after Liverpool drew with Leeds United. The Egyptian star spoke to the media in the mixed zone and complained about being left on the bench for three games in a row.
Salah insists he no longer has a relationship with Liverpool head coach Arne Slott, but also claims the Reds have “thrown him under the bus”.
As a result of this result, Salah has been left out of Liverpool’s squad for Tuesday night’s Champions League match against Inter Milan. Salah also hinted that the Reds’ game against Brighton at the weekend could be his last game for the club.
Carragher appeared regularly on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football and responded at length to Salah’s recent comments.
read more: Key points from Arne Slott’s Liverpool press conference about Mo Salah’s bombshell statementread more: Mohamed Salah’s agent has already given a clear verdict on Arne Slott amid the fallout from the Liverpool interview.
Below is the full text of what Jamie Carragher said in response to Salah’s comments after Liverpool’s draw with Leeds.
“I thought his actions after the game were shameful. Some people may paint this as an emotional outburst, but I don’t think that’s the case.
“Every time Mo Salah stops in a mixed zone, which he has done four times in eight years at Liverpool, I think it’s choreographed for him and his agent to do maximum damage and strengthen their position. He did it 12 months ago – and I called him out on it – and he made a play that struck a chord with Liverpool supporters.”
“Liverpool were top of the league and he had scored the winning goal against Southampton. That was the time to come out and put pressure on the Liverpool ownership. That’s why for the rest of the season there are banners in the crowd that say ‘Give Mo the Dough’.
“I think he chose this weekend to do this now and was waiting for a bad result at Liverpool, a last-minute goal conceded…Everyone at the club feels like they’re at rock bottom right now. And he’s chosen that time to bring in a manager and maybe sack him. That’s how I felt.”
“The one line that sticks out to me is, ‘He threw it under the bus.’ He tried to throw the club under the bus twice in the last 12 months in the situation I just described.”
“A manager today should be doing everything he can to get the club out of its worst run since the 1950s, and he hasn’t done that.”
“If you think about it at the weekend and put yourself in Salah’s shoes or in my shoes as a player, I’m not Mo Salah.
“Mo Salah is a world-famous player, famous all over the world, but should those players be given special treatment? I think they should be.
“When you think about the players who have been in that bracket over the last eight years, I think (Lionel) Messi, (Cristiano) Ronaldo, (Kylian) Mbappé. I wouldn’t put Salah next to them, but he’s come very close to what he did at Liverpool and he’s a legendary figure.”
“All these players have the exact same privileges that Mo Salah has at Liverpool. He doesn’t have to protect, he doesn’t have to chase. That’s the privilege he has at Liverpool.”
“When you say he throws people under the bus, he has thrown Liverpool’s right-back under the bus for the last eight years. Can you imagine playing behind him for eight years? But we accept that because he is a superstar.”
“He scored 250 goals and gave me, as a Liverpool supporter, the best night of my life watching him and his achievements.
“If you think about the egos of players of the type Ronaldo, Messi, Mbappe and Salah, I think they have a feeling that the success of the football club depends on them.
“I have no problem with that because I think it drives them to more goals and more successes and that benefits Liverpool.”
“When you’re in a situation like this, that’s the problem. When Mo Salah talks about his goals: ‘I’ve scored more goals than anyone in the Premier League,’ he’s always talking about himself.
“I would like to remind Salah and his agent that before he came to Liverpool he was known as a failure at Chelsea. That’s just a fact. He never won a big trophy before coming to Liverpool. He is also the greatest player his country has ever played in Egypt. Egypt is the most successful country in the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) and he will be going there in a few weeks.”
“Salah has never won an AFCON. That’s not to say I’m trying to diminish Mo Salah as a player. I just said he’s been one of the best players in the world for the last eight years and there are very few better. But what this tells Salah and his agent is that it’s not about the individual.”
“Before you came to Liverpool, you weren’t a big star. You didn’t win anything in Egypt. The thing to say here is that no matter how good a player you are, you need the help of your teammates, the manager and the fans. I think it’s really important that he remembers that. When he talks after the game, it’s all about me, me, me.”
“Did I ever criticize Mo Salah on the pitch? I don’t consider it (the amputee comment) a criticism. That happens to every player. I never criticized him for not coming back, I don’t think he scored. I’ve never criticized him when he doesn’t go out there and doesn’t pass the ball to the right guy. He’s an absolute legend because you have to put up with some things to get out of him.
“Some of the criticism has gone too far and I’ve said it publicly, but when Salah tries to throw my club under the bus off the pitch, I’m going to go after him and mind my own business.
“Let’s understand Arne Slott, he has conceded 10 goals in three games, one of which was against PSV, but Salah was embarrassing in terms of the challenge he posed.
“Then he goes away to West Ham, a Nuno (Espirito Santo) side who are good at set-pieces. We need to keep a clean sheet and that’s all he cares about. As a manager, what are you trying to do? Take one player out of the team who doesn’t defend.”
“You play against Sunderland at home and I would have played against him too, but I can understand him keeping the same team. He brings him on at half-time. West Ham are away, Leeds are away, why bring him on when they have won those games? You don’t need goals, you don’t need goals conceded.
“So when you bring in Salah, you bring in a player who can’t defend set-pieces and can’t run away.
“I really wanted to criticize Salah on the pitch once this season, but I held back. As I said before, I’ve never criticized him on the pitch.
“He’s a legend at the club and his legacy is there. I don’t care if he doesn’t score another goal or assist for this club. He was great.”
“In my eyes, his real disappointment was in Frankfurt and another game this season.
“If there’s a player who’s signed for Liverpool who needs goals more than anyone else, it’s Florian Wirtz. Instead of being a great player for the club, be a great ambassador for the club, roll the ball to him, give him an easy tap-in, go up to him and give him a hug and say: ‘You’re the man who’s going to take this Liverpool team forward. I don’t need any more goals.’
“Last time we looked at[John]Barnes, Ian Rush and Steven Gerrard, do you think they’re the same players they were in their glory days? Of course they weren’t.
“Will supporters look at them now and think differently about them? They say no, you’re in the top five or six players to have played for Liverpool and the same could be said of Salah.”
“So, on the pitch, the only criticism I received was to help the other players, help Florian Wirtz, help[Alexander]Isak and not get attached to your numbers.
“I think the club made the right decision in that he doesn’t go abroad. I don’t know if he’ll play for Liverpool again. I hope he does because he’s one of the greatest players to ever play.”
“But if you keep doing things like that and saying things like that. If he doesn’t play, who knows?”
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