Wayne Rooney has slammed Mohamed Salah, accusing him of showing disrespect to Liverpool and damaging his own legacy at the club.
This comes after Salah’s explosive post-match comments following a 3-3 draw at Leeds United, where he was an unused substitute. Salah claimed he had been “thrown under the bus” by the club and revealed he has no relationship with manager Arne Slot.
The Egyptian has now been left on the bench for three consecutive matches during Liverpool’s poor run of form.
Wayne Rooney told the BBC that Mohamed Salah’s public outburst was completely out of character and deeply damaging.
“He’s been incredible for Liverpool and is normally very quiet, keeps himself to himself,” Rooney said. “Last year he spoke openly about wanting a new contract – fair enough, he deserves every penny. But you can’t then turn around and say what he just said.
“It was disrespectful to his teammates, the manager, and the fans. This season he hasn’t been at his sharpest, and Arne Slot has clearly noticed that, which is why he’s on the bench.
“As one of Liverpool’s biggest players in recent years, this is the moment he should be rolling his sleeves up and leading by example – not suggesting he doesn’t have to earn his place. That kind of arrogance won’t sit well with anyone in the dressing room. If I were one of his teammates, I’d be furious.
“Honestly, he’s the one who’s thrown Liverpool under the bus with those comments.”
Rooney urged Salah to act fast: “He needs to sit down with the manager, put out a statement, and fix this. Or, if he can’t, he should leave the club. It has to be resolved quickly.”
He concluded: “Right now he is absolutely destroying the legacy he’s built. He’s up there with Liverpool’s all-time greats, but he’s going about this completely the wrong way. It would be sad to see him throw it all away. Just roll your sleeves up, Mo.”
Salah is due to leave for the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt on December 15 and may miss up to a month of action depending on how far his country progresses.
Wayne Rooney commented: “From next week he’ll have the perfect shield – being away with Egypt. The timing isn’t a coincidence; he’s deliberately dropped this bombshell and then disappeared off to AFCON.
“I actually think it’ll help Liverpool to have him out of the picture for a while.”
Rooney urged Liverpool manager Arne Slot to exclude Salah from Tuesday’s Champions League match against Inter, saying: “Slot needs to stamp his authority and tell him, ‘You’re not travelling with us. What you said isn’t acceptable. Head off to AFCON and let the dust settle.’
“Slot has a chance to take charge of the situation. If I were him, I wouldn’t let Salah anywhere near the squad right now.”
Since arriving at Liverpool from Roma in 2017, Salah has scored 250 goals in 420 appearances. He signed a new contract earlier this year after playing a key role in last season’s Premier League title win with 29 goals. Now 33, however, he has managed only four goals in 13 league games this season.
Wayne Rooney said: “When a player reaches the age where his level starts to dip, it’s tough. You start searching for excuses, and the last person you blame is yourself. I think that’s exactly what’s happening here.
“His performances haven’t been good enough. In a couple of years, when he reflects on this, he’ll probably regret speaking out the way he has.
“The only person who can get him out of this mess is himself—by raising his game. Instead of looking in the mirror, he’s pointing the finger everywhere else.”
Rooney drew a comparison with his own experience at Manchester United under José Mourinho, when he was frustrated at being benched behind Zlatan Ibrahimović.
“I knew from the start that Mourinho preferred one striker,” Rooney recalled. “He played two of us for the first few games, but I understood that the moment I had a bad match, I’d be the one dropped.
“So I went to his office and had an honest chat. I asked if I could go out on loan in January because I needed regular football. He said no—he needed me for the Europa League—but I was free to leave in the summer.
“I stood up, shook his hand, accepted it, and never complained again. I sat on the bench, came on when asked, and got on with it.
“That’s what two professionals do: have a straight conversation, shake hands, and move forward. That’s very different to what Salah has chosen to do.”
