- Mohamed Salah publicly criticised Liverpool's performance after their 4-2 defeat by Aston Villa on Friday, stating the club needed to revert to being a "heavy metal attacking team that opponents fear”, a comment widely interpreted as a dig at manager Arne Slot.
- This public statement follows earlier tensions between Salah and Slot, including Salah being benched after a poor run of results and claiming in December that his relationship with the manager had deteriorated, with his departure from Liverpool confirmed for this summer.
- Wayne Rooney condemned Salah's actions as "sad" and "selfish" on BBC’s The Wayne Rooney Show podcast, arguing that the Egyptian's comments were disrespectful and undermined Slot.
- Rooney urged Arne Slot to drop Salah from Liverpool's final match of the season, suggesting that Salah's physical capabilities might no longer suit high-tempo football and that his remarks had created an unnecessary problem for the team.
- Drawing on his own past disagreement with Sir Alex Ferguson, Rooney stressed that Slot should assert his authority by keeping Salah away from the squad for the final game due to his repeated public disrespect towards the manager, despite it being Salah’s last match before he leaves Liverpool.
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Wayne Rooney says ‘selfish’ Mo Salah should be dropped for final Liverpool match
