Liverpool players back Mohamed Salah after statement targeting Arne Slot
Mohamed Salah has issued a thinly veiled critique of manager Arne Slot following Liverpool’s 4-2 defeat by Aston Villa, with several teammates publicly endorsing his statement.
The Reds’ recent loss at Villa Park leaves them needing a final-day victory over Brentford to secure Champions League qualification for next season.
Tensions between the Egyptian forward and his manager have been evident throughout the campaign, culminating in an impassioned social media post on Saturday afternoon.
A demand for heavy metal football
In a strongly worded message on Instagram, the 33-year-old lamented the team’s current trajectory and demanded an immediate return to their feared attacking identity.
“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.”
The prolific winger stressed that adapting to this relentless tactical style should be non-negotiable for anyone joining the Merseyside outfit.
He added that simply winning sporadic matches is insufficient for a club of such historic stature.
Dressing room divide becomes public
The public nature of the critique has exposed apparent fractures within the Anfield dressing room, as numerous senior players interacted with the online post.
Established stars including Andy Robertson, Ibrahima Konate, and Dominik Szoboszlai were among the nearly one million users to ‘like’ the update.
Strikingly, the sentiment was also shared by several of the Dutch coach’s recent big-money acquisitions, such as Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong.
Midfielder Curtis Jones echoed the frustration in a separate post, apologising to supporters for a campaign that has fallen far below expected standards.
Gerrard voices concern over club culture
The relationship between the club’s talisman and their head coach previously flared up in December when the attacker was left on the bench against Leeds United.
Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard expressed deep concern over the unfolding situation during a live broadcast for TNT Sports.
“I think that he’s sending a message to the outside that things in that Liverpool dressing room are not right, the identity’s gone and it’s really hurting him to see it in front of his own eyes.”
The legendary midfielder noted that the usually reserved forward rarely speaks out on social media, amplifying the significance of the damning statement.