A week before his final match for Liverpool, Mo Salah has taken to social media with an impassioned statement which contains an unsubtle swipe at Arne Slot.
The head coach’s stock is an all-time low after the Reds’ comprehensive defeat to Aston Villa on Friday night, one the lowest points of what was already a thoroughly miserable campaign which could yet see us miss out on Champions League qualification.
The Egyptian infamously claimed last December that he had ‘no relationship’ with the 47-year-old after being left out of the starting XI three times in a week, and while they made peace so that the winger got back into the team, he’s now gone public with another outburst in which he’s made his sentiments on the state of the club quite clear.
Taking to X and Instagram on Saturday afternoon, Salah professed: ‘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.’
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Salah’s remarks about ‘doubters to believers’ and ‘heavy metal’ football are two obvious references to Jurgen Klopp, and by extension a broadside at Slot, especially the veiled criticism of the Dutchman’s style of play.
Not only was the winger at Liverpool for most of the journey under the German; he was one of the driving forces which took the Reds back to the summit of English and European football and made us a genuine force at home and abroad once more.
Having tasted the highest of highs at this club, it evidently hurts the 33-year-old to see things deteriorate to the depths at which we find ourselves now. The dream swansong that his LFC career deserved is most certainly not going to materialise.
Salah is leaving and Slot – if reports are to be believed – seems set to stay for the time being, but such has been the Egyptian’s influence inside the dressing room that his words are sure to resonate with teammates who’ll still be playing under the beleaguered Dutchman.
The replies from Curtis Jones and Hugo Ekitike to the winger’s Instagram post (clapping and handshake emojis respectively) hint that they fully agree with the 33-year-old’s views, which suggests that they might well be shared by quite a few within the squad.
Liverpool fans will very much resonate with the outburst from our number 11, whose pain at the club’s demise this season is felt just as acutely by supporters who just want this utter shambles of a season to be over and done with.
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I have been a Liverpool supporter since the day I was born in Preston in 1946, but can never remember a time when players are leaving the club because of the coach. I am sure that Mo and Robbo would have stayed under different circumstances. I don’t know how many players we will lose over the off-season, but I hope we can bring in some quality players. I will support Liverpool FC until the day I die. YNWA.
It speaks of disharmony in the dressing room, players not happy with the training methods under slot. I can only see things getting worse next season , especially at Anfield. The booing will continue, the atmosphere will now get more toxic after Alonso joins Chelsea. You ask most Liverpool supporters and they are scratching their heads bemused by FSG not getting Alonso. We are heading in the wrong direction under slot.
Good luck to Alonso at Chelsea, he’s going to need it
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