Wayne Rooney's Blunt Critique of Mohamed Salah and Liverpool's Decline
Wayne Rooney has never been one to tiptoe around a subject. And on Mohamed Salah, Arne Slot and Liverpool’s unraveling title defence, he went straight for the jugular.
On The Wayne Rooney Show, the Manchester United legend called on Slot to take a hard line and leave Salah out of Liverpool’s final game of the season against Brentford, arguing the Egyptian has “publicly disrespected” his manager twice and is now trying to shield himself from criticism after a poor campaign.
Rooney: “Have him nowhere near the stadium”
Rooney’s verdict on Salah’s recent behaviour was blunt and unforgiving. The flashpoint came after Salah took to social media demanding a return to the “heavy metal” football associated with Jurgen Klopp – a message widely read as a swipe at Slot’s current approach.
“I find it sad at the end of what he’s done and what he’s achieved at Liverpool,” Rooney said, clearly unimpressed with the way one of the club’s modern greats is signing off. “It’s not the point for him to come out and aim another dig at Slot. He wants to play heavy metal football, so he’s basically saying he wants Jurgen Klopp football. Now 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 didn’t stop there. In his view, Salah’s comments did more than challenge the manager; they undercut the dressing room Slot is trying to build.
“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 and put them into a position.”
The fallout is not new. Earlier in the season Salah was dropped after accusing Slot and Liverpool of throwing him “under the bus” over a lack of regular starts. This latest outburst, to Rooney’s eyes, fits a pattern.
“If I was Arne Slot, I’d have him nowhere near the stadium in the last game,” he insisted. “You can’t publicly disrespect him twice the way he has and get away with it. And that’s where if I was Arne Slot, I’d have to pull rank and just say, listen, you’re not coming anywhere near the place on Saturday, whether you like it or not. I really doubt he will do it, but I think he should.”
A legend’s decline and a brutal assessment
Nobody questions Salah’s legacy at Anfield. The numbers alone are staggering: 257 goals for the club, a Premier League title, and 29 league strikes last season as Liverpool powered to the crown.
This year has been a different story. Twelve goals in 40 appearances across all competitions, Liverpool drifting towards a fifth-place finish, and a player who looks a long way from his relentless best.
Rooney believes the public messages are no coincidence.
“I think Salah's trying to vindicate himself and make himself feel better because he's had a very poor season,” he said. “So I think he's been very selfish in what he's done in the two occasions. It's a shame and fans will be on his side, but I think when you look deeper into it and having been in a dressing room in a similar situation to that as well, Mo Salah knows exactly what he's doing.”
That line cut to the heart of Rooney’s argument: this isn’t a naive misstep from a frustrated star. In his view, it’s a calculated move from a player who knows he is on his way out and doesn’t want to carry the blame for Liverpool’s slide.
“Of course he deserves a good send off,” Rooney added, before immediately challenging that sentiment. “But does he deserve it just for this? It’s the second time he’s done it. It’s just a shame to see one of the great icon of Premier League players leave the Premier League probably in this situation.”
Ferguson, fallouts and “pulling rank”
Rooney’s demand for ruthlessness from Slot comes from experience. He drew a direct line back to his own clash with Sir Alex Ferguson, when the United manager dropped him from his final game at Old Trafford after a disagreement.
“I had it with Alex Ferguson. I had a disagreement and fall out and at Alex Ferguson’s last game at Old Trafford, he left me out of the squad for that reason. That’s your manager.”
The message was clear: the manager must be bigger than any player, even an icon. For Rooney, Slot now faces his own Ferguson moment. Allow Salah to dictate the narrative on his way out, or stamp his authority before the new season even begins.
In a Liverpool dressing room already wrestling with a tactical shift, aging stars and a faltering title defence, that decision carries weight far beyond one farewell appearance against Brentford.
Anfield’s fear factor fading
The Salah storm comes against a backdrop of broader decline. Liverpool, champions last season, have seen their title defence collapse in ugly fashion. The intensity that once suffocated opponents has evaporated. So has the aura of Anfield.
Rooney pointed to the change in atmosphere as one of the most striking signs of the slump.
“I think that's the biggest change for me where you go to Anfield, the first thing you want to do is quieten the crowd. But I think actually by Liverpool not pressing they're quietening the crowd down themselves and frustrating the Liverpool fans,” he said.
The pressing, once the heartbeat of Klopp’s Liverpool and the soundtrack to that “heavy metal” tag, has dulled. With it, the edge that made Anfield a place to fear.
Rooney admitted he is torn over Slot’s future. “I’m quite split in should he go or should he stay because he won the league last season, I think he deserves a bit more time, in terms of what we’ve seen this season.”
Then came the most damning line of all.
“I don't feel right or good saying this, some players look like they've downed tools and that's a big problem if you see that or you feel that for the manager.”
If that perception takes hold inside the club, Salah’s barbs and Slot’s response become more than a personal dispute. They become a test of who really runs Liverpool’s dressing room.
Salah’s send-off, if it comes, will be framed by that question. Not just how he is remembered, but whether Slot is willing to risk a fractured goodbye now to protect his authority for what comes next.
