Florian Wirtz explained that he and his teammates felt comfortable ‘liking’ Mohamed Salah’s “honest” social media post about Liverpool’s style of play under Arne Slot because, in his opinion, it was not an attack on any single individual.
In the aftermath of Liverpool’s humiliating 4–2 thrashing by Aston Villa last Friday night, Salah posted an explosive statement across multiple platforms calling for a return to “heavy metal” soccer which Jürgen Klopp brought to the club. While Slot was not explicitly named by Salah, many viewed it as a thinly veiled dig at the Dutchman, who has tried to instil a more restrained style of play since joining the club in 2024.
“I want to see Liverpool go back to being the heavy metal attacking team that opponents fear and back to being a team that wins trophies,” Salah wrote. “That is the football I know how to play and that is the identity that needs to be recovered and kept for good. It cannot be negotiable and everyone that joins this club should adapt to it.”
Slot’s refusal to reveal his opinion of the post spoke volumes—as did his steadfast stance on not confirming if Salah would be involved in Liverpool’s season finale against Brentford on Sunday. However, Wirtz took a much softer view of his teammate’s comments.
“Mo has known the club for a long time now,” Wirtz told The Athletic. “He’s just an honest guy. He says what he thinks. This should be O.K. If you want to speak, you should be able to speak. Of course, it was a bit of a difficult season for all of us, including Mo. In my opinion, it got made bigger than it was. I don’t think he attacked anyone.”
Mohamed Salah (2017/18) pic.twitter.com/LMXo4HMzpl
— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) May 22, 2026
When pushed on why so many members of Liverpool’s squad—including Wirtz himself—were seen to have publicly ’liked’ Salah’s Instagram post, the German playmaker shrugged: “With the ‘likes’ players gave, I think it was made too big. For me, it was just a thing that he wanted to say because he’s leaving. He wanted to make everyone in the club alert that we have to work more and do better.
“We are all anything but happy with this season. I think we can still make a little bit out of it by qualifying for the Champions League on Sunday. We have to do that. Then in the summer, we need to clear our heads and attack next season, because we have a very good squad and we can do much better.”
“The outside world is always trying to create something between the team and the manager,” Wirtz added. “But it’s totally different in this building. We are working well every day with this manager and his staff. There is no thought about not being behind the manager. This is just something [talked about] on the outside.”
Liverpool Show Clearest Sign Yet of Arne Slot Backing
Wirtz is right in the sense that the media have repeatedly debated Slot’s future at Liverpool. However, every report of any substance regarding the Dutchman’s position on Merseyside has landed on the same conclusion: He’s not going anywhere.
The prevailing theory has it that Slot’s Premier League title triumph just 12 months ago cannot be wiped away by this admittedly disastrous second season. As has been pointed out, there are a wide range of mitigating circumstances behind Liverpool’s staggering drop-off, most pertinently the unquantifiable impact of tragically losing beloved squad member Diogo Jota in the summer.
If the widespread reports were not convincing enough, Liverpool are poised to deliver another grand show of faith in Slot by hiring his trusted former set-piece coach Etiënne Reijnen. The Telegraph report that the specialist has already told his colleagues at Feyenoord that he will be reunited with Slot by taking up a position at Anfield ahead of the 2026–27 season.
Reijnen played alongside Slot for PEC Zwolle and served as a member of his technical staff during his last season at Feyenoord. Klopp’s successor at Liverpool supposedly wanted to bring Reijnen with him when he first moved to Merseyside only to be foiled by visa complications.
Feyenoord have thrived at set-piece situations under the watch of Reijnen. Across his three seasons in Rotterdam, the technical coach’s side have conceded just 17 goals from dead balls, the best record across the entire division. Only PSV Eindhoven have scored more from such scenarios over the same period.
Without Reijnen by his side, Slot’s Liverpool have struggled from dead balls. While the club’s attacking threat has improved following the mid-season exit of coach Aaron Briggs, the fallen champions’ defensive solidity has been historically woeful. Liverpool have conceded an unrivaled 20 set-piece goals in the Premier League this season.
Reijnen’s appointment serves two purposes; addressing that glaring flaw while also underscoring Slot’s untouchable status among Liverpool’s hierarchy.
