He's almost just dropped the grenade and said he doesn't trust Arne Slot
As Mohamed Salah prepares to leave Liverpool after nine years and 257 goals, his public criticism of manager Arne Slot has drawn a sharp rebuke from Wayne Rooney, who argues that even legendary service cannot shield a player from the consequences of undermining those who lead. The dispute arrives at a fragile moment — Liverpool's title defense has crumbled, Champions League qualification is uncertain, and the club stands at the threshold between honoring a great and holding a line. In the human story of institutions and individuals, the question Rooney raises is ancient: does loyalty to a team demand silence, even at the end?
- Salah's social media call for Liverpool to return to 'heavy metal' football was widely read as a public rebuke of Slot's methods — and a second such incident in a single season.
- Rooney escalated the tension by demanding Salah be excluded from the final match entirely, invoking his own experience of being dropped by Ferguson as a precedent for consequences without exceptions.
- Beneath the disciplinary argument lies a sharper accusation: that Salah's declining form — 12 goals this season versus 29 last — may be the real story he is trying to rewrite by blaming the system.
- The collateral damage falls on Salah's teammates, who must continue under Slot after their departing legend has publicly cast doubt on the manager's authority and vision.
- Liverpool's broader collapse — from champions to fifth place, with fans growing restless and some players seemingly disengaged — gives the dispute a weight that extends well beyond one player's farewell.
Wayne Rooney has called for Mohamed Salah to be excluded from Liverpool's final match of the season, a striking verdict on a player who has defined the club for nearly a decade. The flashpoint was Salah's social media post following a 4-2 defeat to Aston Villa, in which he called for Liverpool to return to being a 'heavy metal attacking team' — language widely understood as a rebuke of Arne Slot's tactical approach and a longing for the Klopp era.
Salah, 33, is departing Anfield after nine years and 257 goals, but Rooney argued on his podcast that legacy does not exempt a player from consequences. Drawing on his own experience of being dropped by Sir Alex Ferguson after a disagreement, Rooney framed Salah's comments not as a one-time slip but as a pattern — Salah had already spoken critically about his relationship with Slot back in December.
Rooney's critique cut deeper still. He suggested that Salah's call for high-intensity football exposed an uncomfortable truth: the winger may no longer be capable of playing that way. With just 12 league goals this season compared to 29 the year before, Rooney saw the public criticism as an attempt at self-vindication — blaming the system rather than confronting diminished form.
The damage, in Rooney's view, extended to Salah's teammates. By publicly questioning Slot, Salah had effectively told the dressing room he no longer trusted the manager — leaving those who would remain at Liverpool to absorb the fallout. Rooney also acknowledged the wider picture: the defending champions have slipped to fifth, the pressing intensity that once made Anfield a fortress has faded, and some players appeared to have stopped trying.
Rooney admitted he doubted Slot would actually bench Salah. But the call itself carried weight — a former United captain arguing that even a club legend must face consequences for public dissent, and that a proper farewell must be earned, not assumed.
Wayne Rooney has called for Mohamed Salah to be benched from Liverpool's final match of the season, a stark statement about a player who has defined the club for nearly a decade. The disagreement centers on Salah's public criticism of manager Arne Slot following a 4-2 loss to Aston Villa that left Liverpool's Champions League qualification in jeopardy. After the defeat, Salah posted on social media that Liverpool needed to return to being a "heavy metal attacking team that opponents fear"—language widely understood as a rebuke of Slot's tactical approach and a longing for the intensity of Jurgen Klopp's era.
Salah, 33, is leaving Anfield at season's end after nine years and 257 goals, having won six major trophies with the club. Yet Rooney, speaking on his podcast, argued that this legacy does not exempt him from consequences. "If I was Arne Slot, I'd have him nowhere near the stadium in the last game," Rooney said, invoking his own experience under Sir Alex Ferguson, who dropped him from Manchester United's final match after a disagreement. Rooney framed Salah's comments as a deliberate undermining of managerial authority—not a one-time slip but a pattern. Salah had previously told reporters in December that his relationship with Slot had deteriorated, and now he was doing it again in public.
Rooney's critique went deeper than mere insubordination. He suggested that Salah's call for high-tempo, high-intensity football revealed something uncomfortable: the winger may no longer be capable of playing that way himself. "I don't think Mo Salah can cope with that type of football anymore. I think his legs have gone to play at that high tempo and high intensity," Rooney said. This season, Salah has scored just 12 times in 40 league games, a sharp decline from his 29 goals last year when Liverpool won the title under Slot. Rooney interpreted the public criticism as an attempt at self-vindication—a way for Salah to explain away a disappointing campaign by blaming the system rather than acknowledging his own diminished form.
What made the situation more damaging, in Rooney's view, was the position it put Salah's teammates in. By publicly questioning Slot's methods, Salah was essentially telling the squad that the manager lacked his confidence. "He's almost just dropped the grenade and said he doesn't trust and believe in Arne Slot and almost thrown his teammates who are going to be there next season and let them have to deal with that as well," Rooney said. Those teammates would remain at Liverpool after Salah departed; they would have to work under Slot knowing that one of the club's greatest players had just cast doubt on his leadership.
Yet Rooney also acknowledged the broader context of Liverpool's collapse. The defending champions have slipped to fifth in the Premier League, and the fanbase has grown restless. Rooney found himself conflicted about whether Slot deserved to keep his job. On one hand, Slot had won the league in his first season, which Rooney felt warranted patience. On the other hand, something felt wrong at Anfield. The team was no longer pressing opponents with the suffocating intensity that had made the stadium a fortress. "The first thing you want to do is quieten the crowd," Rooney said of visiting teams. "But I think actually by Liverpool not pressing they're quietening the crowd down themselves and frustrating the Liverpool fans." Some players, he suggested, appeared to have stopped trying—a phrase that carried its own weight in a dressing room.
Rooney stopped short of predicting that Slot would actually drop Salah for the Brentford match. "I really doubt he will do it," he said. But the call itself was significant: a former Manchester United captain arguing that even a club legend must face consequences for public dissent. Salah deserved a proper farewell, Rooney acknowledged, but not unconditionally. Not after twice going public with his doubts about the man leading the team. The question now was whether Slot would have the authority—or the will—to enforce that line.
Citações Notáveis
If I was Arne Slot, I'd have him nowhere near the stadium in the last game.— Wayne Rooney
I think Salah's trying to vindicate himself and make himself feel better because he's had a very poor season.— Wayne Rooney
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does Rooney think this matters so much? Salah's leaving anyway.
Because the damage doesn't leave with him. His teammates stay. They read what he said. They have to work under a manager he just publicly questioned. That's corrosive.
But isn't Salah right? Liverpool's playing worse football than they did under Klopp.
Maybe. But there's a difference between thinking that privately and saying it on social media while you're still employed. One is analysis. The other is a power move.
Rooney mentions his own experience with Ferguson. Is that really comparable?
It's the closest parallel he has. Ferguson benched him for a final match as a statement about authority. Rooney's saying Slot should do the same—not out of spite, but to show the dressing room that public criticism has consequences.
What about Salah's actual performance this season? Does that change anything?
It complicates it. Rooney thinks Salah's criticism is partly him trying to explain away a poor year. If he'd played well, the comments might land differently. Instead they read like deflection.
Do you think Slot will actually drop him?
Rooney doesn't think so. And he's probably right. It would be a bold move, and Slot may not want to end the season with that kind of conflict. But the fact that Rooney thinks he should—that tells you something about how serious this is seen.