“All he’s done is say he wants to play football. How could you be slaughtered for that?”
Pundit Paul Merson has backed Mohamed Salah in the player’s stand-off with Liverpool and manager Arne Slot.
Salah gave an incendiary interview after being benched for three games, calling out the manager for leaving him out of the side and saying that communication between them had broken down.
He was later dropped from the squad that defeated Inter Milan in the Champions League this week.
The incident has sparked huge controversy, and Merson said he felt Salah’s frustration was understandable given his status and record at Liverpool.
“I’m on Mo Salah’s side,” said the former Arsenal midfielder. “I think he’s gotten too much stick.
“Maybe he shouldn’t have done what he did, but he’s a human being. He’s a winner. He’s a legend. The figures he’s put up on the wing – goals and assists – is off the charts. We’ll never see that again in my opinion.
“All he’s done is say he wants to play football. He’s got the hump because he’s not playing. How could you be slaughtered for that?”
Merson questioned why the forward had been singled out when the rest of the team were also struggling for form.
“There are other players in the team that could’ve been dropped and he’s probably thinking ‘we’re not very good and I’m not playing’,” said Merson. “I just think it’s wrong.
“Liverpool wouldn’t have won anything if it wasn’t for Mo Salah. You take away his goals and assists and I don’t think there’s any trophies in that cabinet for a while.
“I don’t believe, because he’s won things before, he should be playing. But he’s not the only one who has been playing poorly. Mo Salah can score from anywhere. He’s the best worst player.
“Some days he is the best player you’ve ever seen and others you think, ‘really – what’s the hype?’ He can be having the worst game ever but it never affects him. He can always pop up.”
