Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has admitted that Mohamed Salah’s comments on the current state of the club do not reflect well on Arne Slot.
Salah appeared to take aim at Slot in a bombshell social media post on Saturday, less than 24 hours after the Reds were beaten 4-2 by Aston Villa to heap the pressure on the Liverpool manager after what has been an underwhelming season.
The Egyptian, who returned from injury as a late substitute on Friday, is set to leave the club at the end of a campaign where his relationship with Slot has been tested. And, following the Villa defeat, he seemed to criticise the Liverpool boss in a groundbreaking social media post on Saturday afternoon.
‘Mo Salah doesn’t really speak much, he doesn’t really tweet, and he certainly doesn’t tweet like that,’ Gerrard said on TNT Sports. ‘So I think that he’s sending a message to the outside that things in that Liverpool dressing room are not right, the identity’s gone and it’s really hurting him to see it in front of his own eyes.
‘I’m surprised, the timing, one game to go, his last game for Liverpool. He very rarely speaks, he’s done it lately because he’s bringing the curtain down on an incredible Liverpool career. But that is quite damning to the Liverpool manager and the staff in terms of where this team’s at.’
Salah had reflected on his career at Liverpool, which will come to an end after nine years next weekend following the Reds’ game against Brentford.
Steven Gerrard has said the bombshell statement made by Mohamed Salah (right) does not reflect well on Arne Slot (left)
He wrote on X: ‘I have witnessed this club go from doubters to believers, and from believers to champions. It took hard work and I always did everything I could to help the club get there.
‘Nothing makes me prouder than that. Us crumbling to yet another defeat this season was very painful and not what our fans deserve.
‘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.
‘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.
‘Winning some games here and there is not what Liverpool should be about. All teams win games.
‘Liverpool will always be a club that means a great deal to me and to my family. I want to see it succeed for long after I have moved on.
‘As I’ve always said, qualifying to next season’s Champions League is the bare minimum and I will do everything I can to make that happen.’
The reference to ‘heavy metal’ football is what Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side were famed for playing during his nine years in charge of the club from 2015 to 2024.
Gerrard said Salah is trying to send a message that the ‘dressing room is not quite right’
Salah’s social media comment was liked by a number of Liverpool players, with Curtis Jones adding an applause emoji.
The other players who either liked or commented were Dominik Szoboszlai, Andy Robertson, Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, Wataru Endo, Giovanni Leoni and Harvey Elliott.
Although Salah’s post may have been interpreted as a rallying cry, it came after an explosive fall-out with Slot earlier in the season.
Following their 3-3 draw at Leeds in December when he failed to come off the bench, the Egyptian gave an interview to reporters at Elland Road in which he accused the club of throwing him under the bus and said he had no relationship with boss Slot.
‘I could not believe I was sitting on the bench for 90 minutes,’ he said. ‘That’s the third time. It’s the first time in my career I think.
‘(I am) very disappointed, I have done so much for this club over the years, especially last season. It seems like the club has thrown me under the bus. That’s how I feel.
‘Someone wants me to get all the blame. The club promised me a lot in summer. Now I’m on bench so I can say they haven’t kept those promises.
‘I used to have a good relationship (with manager Slot). Now we don’t have any relationship and I don’t know why. It seems like someone does not want me in the club.
Salah criticised Liverpool for ‘crumbling to another defeat’ against Aston Villa on Friday
‘I called my mum and dad and told them to come to the Brighton game. It doesn’t matter if I play or not. I’m going to enjoy it. I’m just going to be at Anfield and say goodbye to the fans before the African Cup of Nations, because I don’t know what is going to happen when I am there.
‘It’s not acceptable to me to be fair. If I was somewhere else, every club would protect its players. Now, it’s “Throw Mo under the bus because he is a problem in a team”. I don’t think I am a problem.
‘I am not fighting for my position every day because I have earned it. I am not bigger than the club. I am not bigger than anything. But I have earned it.’
