Jamie Carragher has stood firm against criticism of Mohamed Salah, branding the Liverpool star’s bombshell interview following the 3-3 draw with Leeds United a “disgrace”.
Jamie Carragher has refused to back down on his criticism of Mohamed Salah after the Liverpool star was given a bombshell interview following a thrilling 3-3 draw with Leeds United in the Premier League.
The Egyptian forward told journalists he no longer shares a bond with Liverpool manager Arne Slott and accused the club of “throwing him under the bus” after being dropped for three games in a row. After the interview emerged, Mr Carragher suggested Mr Salah’s comments were calculated and intended to force Mr Slott out of office.
“I thought his behavior after the match was disgraceful,” said the Sky Sports analyst. “Some people have painted this as an emotional outburst, but I don’t think that’s the case.
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“Every time Mo Salah stops in a mixed zone, which he has done four times in eight years at Liverpool, it is choreographed by him and his agents to do maximum damage and strengthen his own position.”
Salah missed the Reds’ Champions League win over Inter Milan, but returned to the squad for the win over Brighton & Hove Albion. The winger played in the opening game and could be his final appearance for the Merseyside giants.
As time has passed, Mr Carragher has reconsidered Mr Salah’s plight and refused to describe his comments as excessive. “If you ask me if I would have done anything different, no. They kept asking me about it, so I kept going,” he said on the Stick to Football podcast.
“We were in the Champions League and Liverpool were playing that night and there was a huge buzz around Mo missing the trip so there was no getting away from that. It was the biggest buzz in the city for seven to 10 days. I wouldn’t take anything back.”
Asked whether it was going too far to call it “disgraceful,” he replied, “It was disgraceful.”
He added: “It’s fine if someone has a different opinion, but you have to support it. People say that (Ibrahima) Konate is not playing well, but he has played every game and they don’t have another centre-back, so it’s not a debate.”
“You could say (Ryan) Gravenbirch. They don’t have another holding midfielder. (Cody) Gakpo is out, (Ugo) Ekitike is out, (Alexander) Isak is in and out, (Alexis) McAllister is in and out, and the fullbacks have changed. Everyone on the team other than (Dominik) Szoboszlai hasn’t played well.”
Even as Gary Neville tried to make the case for why Salah should have been used at Elland Road, Carragher remained steadfast in his position. “These type of guys with big egos, I get it (saying), but that’s probably why it took so long to beat him.”
“At the beginning of the season, he was out in Europe. That’s what he was resting. This was keeping him out. We always talk about how a manager should never criticize a player in public. Can you imagine if Slott had said about Salah after the Leeds game, ‘He hasn’t been good all season, he’s not coming back, he’s not scoring goals’? We would have thought, ‘Oh no, you can’t say that.’
“But on the other hand, are there people defending this interview? If this was someone else and he said it about Salah, there would be an uproar, and rightly so. You can’t say that. If this is someone who talks a lot to the media and is always there, he doesn’t talk to the media. So when he speaks, he knows exactly what he’s saying, he’s smart.”
Asked if Salah could leave the club in January, Carragher replied: “If Liverpool get the money they want, they probably will. They don’t want to get into trouble. I want him to stay and I think he can give him a better send-off and make an impact between now and the end of the season.”
