Liverpool playmaker Florian Wirtz explains that he “liked” Mohamed Salah’s social media post after the Reds’ loss to Aston Villa, dismissing suggestions there is a rift between the team and Arne Slott.
Wirtz liked Salah’s controversial social media post (Image: Getty Images)
Manager Florian Wirtz has rejected the idea that Mohamed Salah’s social media posts after Liverpool’s 4-2 defeat at Aston Villa last week were aimed at criticizing Arne Slott.
The Reds playmaker has explained why claims the team rebelled against head coach Slott are false as they look to secure Champions League qualification at home to Brentford on Sunday after a difficult season.
Less than 24 hours after Liverpool’s defeat at Villa Park last week – their 12th Premier League game in total – Salah posted a post that questioned Slott’s preferred playing philosophy, saying: “I’d like to see Liverpool go back to being the heavy metal attacking team that opponents fear and being the team that wins trophies.”
The comments were widely seen as Salah’s return to the slot after he claimed in December that he had been “thrown under the bus” by his head coach after being left out of the starting XI for three consecutive Premier League games for the first time in his Anfield career.
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However, Wirths insists Salah has a sufficient standing within the club to express his views openly and denied suggestions that the post was aimed at fueling speculation that his relationship with Slott was deteriorating behind closed doors, the Liverpool Echo reported.
The Germany international, who liked the post on Instagram, also revealed to The Athletic why he felt inspired to publicly support the concerns raised by the iconic Salah. “Mo has known the club for a long time,” Wirtz said. “He’s just an honest guy. He says what he thinks. That’s fine. If he wants to talk, he can.”
“Obviously it was a bit of a difficult season for all of us, including Mo. In my opinion, it became bigger than it really was. I don’t think he attacked anyone.”
“I like Mo’s mentality in general. The way he looks at things, the way he approaches things. He’s a guy who listens because he’s seen a lot. He wasn’t attacking anybody. I think it got too big because of the ‘likes’ the players gave him.”
“For me, it was just something he wanted to say because he was leaving. He wanted to warn everyone at the club that we have to work harder and do better.
Wirtz and Liverpool manager Arne Slott (Image: Getty Images)
“Not all of us are happy with this season. I think we can still achieve a little bit if we qualify for the Champions League on Sunday.”
“We have to do that and in the summer we have to clear our heads and attack next season because we have a very good team and we can do better.”
“The outside world is always trying to create something between the team and the manager,” said Wertz, who will play on Sunday’s off-season game against Keith Andrews’ side.
“But it’s completely different in this building. We work well with this manager and his staff every day. There’s no idea that we’re not behind the manager. This is just something that’s (spoken) on the outside.”
The Reds can qualify for next season’s Champions League this Sunday if they avoid defeat at Anfield.
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