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[SPOTV News reporter Park Dae-sung] Wayne Rooney urged Liverpool to leave Mohamed Salah out of the squad for the club\u2019s final home match this season, saying the dressing-room atmosphere feels like players are deliberately going through the motions.<\/p>\n
On May 19 (KST), the BBC reported that after Liverpool\u2019s 2-4 loss to Aston Villa, Salah posted on social media: \u201cWe must return to heavy-metal attacking football that opponents fear. That\u2019s the football I know how to play, and it\u2019s an identity we must restore and protect forever. This is non-negotiable, and everyone who joins this club must adapt to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many interpreted that as a direct criticism of manager Arne Slot, and it sparked a backlash. Salah scored 257 goals across nine years at Liverpool and helped the club win six trophies, but he is set to leave at the end of this season.<\/p>\n
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On his BBC program The Wayne Rooney Show, Rooney said, \u201cIt\u2019s bitter to see Salah\u2019s time and achievements at Liverpool end like this. He had no reason to publicly take another shot at Slot.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added, \u201cSalah wants heavy-metal football \u2014 basically Jurgen Klopp\u2019s style. But I don\u2019t think Salah can sustain that anymore. His mobility has declined; he can\u2019t cope with that high tempo and intensity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rooney continued, \u201cIf I were Slot, I would have kept Salah away from the stadium on the final matchday. I\u2019ve been there with Sir Alex Ferguson \u2014 we clashed, and because of that I was left out of Ferguson\u2019s final Old Trafford squad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rooney sharply criticized Salah\u2019s actions: \u201cHe effectively threw a grenade and signaled he doesn\u2019t trust Slot. He\u2019s leaving teammates who will remain to deal with the situation next season in an awkward position.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Salah told reporters last December that his relationship with Slot had broken down.<\/p>\n
A four-time Premier League Golden Boot winner, Salah scored 29 goals in the 2024\u201325 season \u2014 Slot\u2019s first \u2014 to help Liverpool win the title, but he has not matched that form this season.<\/p>\n
Rooney said, \u201cSalah has been very poor this season, so it looks like he\u2019s trying to justify himself and find comfort. Doing this twice is very selfish. Fans will likely side with Salah, but speaking as someone who\u2019s been in similar situations, he knows exactly what he\u2019s doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added, \u201cThe target was the manager. You can\u2019t openly snub him twice and expect it to pass. If I were Slot, I\u2019d assert my authority and tell Salah, \u2018Whether you like it or not, don\u2019t show your face near Anfield on Saturday.\u2019 I\u2019m not sure Slot will actually do that, but he should.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rooney continued, \u201cOf course Salah deserves a proper send-off, but should he get one after this behavior? This is the second time. It\u2019s a shame to see one of the Premier League\u2019s great icons leave under this cloud.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Rooney was cautious about Slot\u2019s job security. \u201cYou notice the biggest change when you visit Anfield. In the past, as the away team your first job was to quiet the home crowd,\u201d he said. \u201cNow Liverpool aren\u2019t playing pressing football, and they\u2019re effectively silencing their own supporters and frustrating fans.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked about Slot\u2019s future, Rooney said, \u201cI\u2019m torn. He guided them to the league title last season, so it\u2019s not fair to judge him on this campaign alone. He should be given a bit more time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finally, Rooney added, \u201cI\u2019m careful and uncomfortable saying this, but some players look like they\u2019re downing tools. For a manager, seeing or sensing that is a huge problem.\u201d He expressed concern about the state of Liverpool\u2019s locker room.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Wayne Rooney criticized Mohamed Salah’s exclusion from Liverpool’s final home match, claiming it negatively impacts the team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/cdn-union.tenbizt.com\/contents\/crawler-dev\/thumbnail\/2026\/05\/CP-2022-0020\/thumb-c6dc0261-795c-49fb-afbe-2d81d465b5a8.jpg","footnotes":""},"categories":[278095],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-260999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n