Jamie Carragher has branded Mohamed Salah ‘disgraceful’ after his explosive interview with Liverpool and Arne Slot.
Salah accused Liverpool of throwing him under the bus and said his relationship with the Anfield boss had broken down.
Salah was left in serious doubts about his future at Liverpool after Saturday’s 3-3 draw against Leeds United – the third straight game he has started on the bench.
Egyptian superstar Salah, a Premier League and Liverpool legend, has been widely criticized for his extraordinary interview, with Wayne Rooney saying he risks ‘destroying his legacy’.
Carragher was also furious at Salah’s outburst, saying it was the striker who essentially ‘threw the club under the bus’ – and not the other way around.
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“I thought it was a shame what he did after the game,” Carragher said Air sports. ‘Some people have portrayed it as an emotional outburst, I don’t think it was.
‘I think when Mo puts Salah in the mix zone, which he has done four times in eight years at Liverpool, it is choreographed between him and his agent to cause maximum damage and strengthen his own position.
“He did that 12 months ago and I called him about it on this show. He played on the hearts of the Liverpool supporters.
‘Liverpool were top of the league and he had scored the winning goal at Southampton. That was the moment to come out and put pressure on Liverpool’s owners.
“So for the rest of the season you’ll have banners in the crowd saying ‘Give Mo his money.’
“He chose to do this now this weekend and he waited for a bad result, they conceded a goal at the last minute.
‘The Liverpool supporters, the manager, the whole club feel like things are in the gutter at the moment and he has chosen that moment to go for the manager and maybe get him sacked.
What did Salah say? Important quotes from an explosive interview
- When we were back on the bench against Leeds: ‘The third time on the bench, I think the first time in my career. I’m very, very disappointed to be honest. I have done so much for this club over the years and especially last season. Now I’m sitting on the couch and I don’t know why. It seems like the club threw me under the bus. That’s how I feel. I think it’s very clear that someone wanted to put all the blame on me.’
- About his relationship with Arne Slot: ‘I’ve said before that I had a good relationship with the manager, but suddenly we no longer have a relationship. I don’t know why, but it seems to me, the way I see it, that someone doesn’t want me in the club.’
- On whether Saturday’s match against Brighton could be his last game for Liverpool: ‘In my head I’m going to enjoy that game, because I don’t know what’s going to happen next. I will be at Anfield to say goodbye to the fans and go to the Africa Cup (of Nations). I don’t know what’s going to happen when I get there.’
- On whether he regrets signing a new contract last season: ‘Imagine how bad it is that I have to answer that honestly. That hurts, even the question hurts. This club, signing for this club, I will never regret it. I thought I would extend here and end my career here, but that didn’t go according to plan.”
- About Saudi Pro League transfer interest: ‘I don’t want to answer this question because the club is going to take me in a different direction.’
“That’s how I felt too.”
Carragher also said Salah had ‘thrown his right-back under the bus’ since his £34million move from Roma in 2017.
“The phrase that stands out for me is ‘thrown under the bus,’” Carragher added. ‘He has tried to throw the club under the bus twice in the last 12 months with the situations just mentioned.
‘Initially he went after the owners, and these are owners who have been paying him hundreds of thousands of pounds for six years. A year ago he complained because they had not given him a new contract at the age of 32. The club has more than the right to do that.’
‘Now that he is the manager, Salah should be doing everything he can to help the club get out of the worst run of results they have had since the 1950s and he has not done that.
But if I thought about it this weekend and put myself in Salah’s position, or how I was as a player, I am not Mo Salah. Salah is a player famous all over the world, and should those players be treated differently?
‘I think they should. If you think of the players in that category over the past eight years: Messi, Ronaldo and Mbappé. I wouldn’t put Salah next to them, but he is very close for what he has done for Liverpool.
‘He is a legendary figure and all those players are given a privilege. Exactly the same as Salah gets at Liverpool and that is that he doesn’t have to defend. he doesn’t have to chase back.
‘He has that at Liverpool, but when we talk about throwing people under the bus, he’s throwing Liverpool under the bus again for eight years. Imagine playing behind him for eight years.
‘But we accept it because we are a superstar and he has scored 250 goals and he has given me as a Liverpool supporter some of the best nights of my life when I look at him and see what he has done.’
Carragher pointed out that he has ‘never criticized’ Salah’s performance on the pitch so far.
However, he changed his position in the wake of Salah’s extraordinary interview, accusing him of not doing enough to help struggling Liverpool’s summer signing Florian Wirtz.
‘Have I ever criticized Mo Salah on the pitch? “I have never criticized him for not working poorly or not scoring because he is an absolute legend at the club,” Carragher said.
“Some of the criticism this season has been excessive and I said so. But I’ll come after him if he tries to throw my bat under the bus.
‘He has been fantastic and his legacy is already there. Where he really let himself down was in the Champions League match against Frankfurt and in another match.
‘There is a man who signed for Liverpool who needs a goal more than anyone else and that is Florian Wirtz. He should have rolled that ball to Wirtz for an easy tap and celebrated with him and said to him, “You are the man who is going to take this team forward, I don’t need any more goals”.
‘The only criticism I have is that you have to help the other players and not be obsessed with your own numbers. The club has made the right decision. I hope he plays for the club again, but I don’t know if that will happen.’
Slot had already faced the media at Elland Road when Salah’s comments emerged, but spoke about the explosive interview during his press conference ahead of Inter Milan on Monday evening.
Salah has established himself as one of Liverpool’s all-time greats since his £34million move from Roma in 2017, scoring 250 goals in 420 appearances.
Only two players in history have scored more goals for Liverpool than Salah, who has won two Premier League titles, the Champions League, FA Cup and EFL Cup during his time on Merseyside.
Salah had his best season yet last year, helping Slot to the Premier League title in his first season since replacing Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.
The 33-year-old and Liverpool as a whole have struggled this season, slipping to ninth in the Premier League.
Salah was previously linked with a move to Saudi Arabia and Pro League club Al-Hilal were said to make a bid in January.
More to follow…
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