Wayne Rooney has described Mohamed Salah as “selfish” who is “not anywhere near Anfield” and will refuse the chance to bid him farewell before leaving Liverpool. Salah, 33, is emotionally ready to leave the club’s supporters after Sunday’s home game against Brentford.
The forward is leaving after nine impressive years at Liverpool, but his final season hasn’t gone to plan on and off the pitch. Salah famously claimed he had been “thrown under the bus” at Liverpool in December, adding that he had “nothing to do” with Arne Slott before being left out of the squad.
Several of Salah’s teammates liked the post, which echoes much of the sentiment of Liverpool supporters towards Slott and his more cautious approach. However, Rooney has criticized the Egyptian and would sack Salah if he were in charge of the Reds.
The Manchester United legend said on The Wayne Rooney Show: “I think it’s sad to see the end of what he did and what he achieved at Liverpool. It makes no sense for him to come out and try to get another spot in the slot.”
“He wants to play heavy metal football, so he’s basically saying he wants Jurgen Klopp’s football. Now I don’t think Mo Salah can handle that type of football anymore. I think his legs have been used to play with that high tempo and high intensity.”
“If I was Arn Slott I wouldn’t have put him anywhere near the stadium for the last game. I was like Alex Ferguson. We had a disagreement, we had a falling out and in Alex Ferguson’s last game at Old Trafford he took me out of the team for that reason.”
“He just dropped a grenade and said he doesn’t trust or believe in Arne Slott and almost throws his team-mates next season too and lets them deal with it too and puts them in place.”
Salah has certainly relinquished his place as a starter at Liverpool this season, scoring just 12 goals in 40 games. Mr Rooney believes his post on Saturday was an effort to “correct himself” after a “very poor” campaign.
The former England captain added: “I think he was very selfish in both of his actions.” “It’s unfortunate and the fans will be on his side, but if you think about it more deeply, having been in the dressing room in similar situations, I think Mo Salah knows exactly what he’s doing.
“That’s your manager. You can’t disrespect him twice as much in public and ignore that. And if I were Arne Slott, that’s where I would have to step down and say, ‘Listen, whether you like it or not, I’m not going anywhere near that place on Sunday.’ I really doubt he’ll do it, but I think he should.”
“Of course he deserves a sending off well enough, but does this alone deserve a sending off? It’s the second time he’s done something like this. It’s a shame to see probably one of the great icons of Premier League players leave the Premier League in these circumstances.”
