Mo Salah’s Liverpool farewell week is becoming dominated by debate over his social media statement rather than the chance to celebrate one of our greatest ever players.
The Egyptian’s call for the club to rediscover its “heavy metal” attacking identity has split supporters, with some agreeing completely and others questioning the timing before a crucial final game against Brentford.
Now Nigel Reo-Coker has delivered one of the strongest verdicts yet on what it means for Arne Slot.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily podcast, Reo-Coker argued that Salah knew exactly what he was doing when he posted his message.
The former Premier League midfielder said: “When you look at this situation specifically, Mohamed Salah is very calculated.”
He added: “He only speaks when he needs to speak and when things are going well you don’t really hear from him whatsoever.”
That’s a strong accusation, particularly when discussing a player who has given Liverpool 257 goals, countless decisive moments and every major honour possible since arriving from Roma.
But the frustration around the statement is not just about whether Salah was right to want better from Liverpool.
It’s about whether the 33-year-old should have said it publicly with Champions League football still not secured and his final Anfield appearance days away.
Reo-Coker went further by saying: “For me, this was perfectly calculated and perfectly timed for him to know exactly what he’s doing – taking a dig at the manager.”
The former West Ham man then added: “This is basically a knife to the back to Slot before Salah leaves the football club.”
Chris Sutton has also claimed Salah “will have known the damage” his comments would do to Slot, which shows how much this row has grown.
The uncomfortable truth is that many Liverpool fans agree with Salah’s message about standards, identity and ambition.
However, with Slot already under huge pressure after the Aston Villa defeat, this has made an already messy final week even more complicated.
Salah deserves a huge farewell, but Liverpool also need unity, focus and a result.
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