Club legend reacted strongly in public for the second time this season
Mohamed Salah has hit out publicly against Liverpool again, criticising the direction of the club on the back of the defeat against Aston Villa that Arne Slot described as “damaging”.
Liverpool lost 4-2 to Unai Emery’s side at Villa Park, a result that threatened their chances of Champions League qualification and once again placed doubts on supporters’ minds regarding whether Slot was the right man to be at the helm.
Salah, who is set to leave Anfield after next weekend, criticised Liverpool and Slot in December and said he had been “thrown under the bus“. On Saturday, he reacted strongly for the second time this season but this time on social media, in what many will interpret as an attack on Slot.
“I have witnessed this club go from doubters to believers, and from believers to champions,” Salah wrote. “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.”
The specific mention of “heavy metal” football is a direct comparison between Slot’s methods and those of Jurgen Klopp, with Salah clearly describing Slot’s tactics as inferior and unworthy of Liverpool.
Liverpool face Brentford next weekend in a match they have to win to decide their European fate themselves, but the game is also expected to be Salah’s final appearance at Anfield.
The Egyptian forward, who has scored 257 goals for Liverpool including 191 in the Premier League, had already confirmed earlier this year that he would leave the club after agreeing to end his contract a year early.
Salah also said: “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.”
