Manchester United legend, Wayne Rooney has claimed that Mohamed Salah’s recent rant about poor treatment by Liverpool was disrespectful to his teammates, manager Arne Slot and fans, Softfootball understands.
Salah was benched on Sunday evening as Liverpool played out a 3-3 draw against Leeds United in the premier league match-day 15 fixture. It was the third consecutive game Salah had been on the bench for the Reds and that triggered him and led to his now famous rant at the weekend.
Wayne Rooney was a guest of BBCSports official podcast, as he jumped on the issue, saying the Egyptian acted out of order and went too far in his rant after the match. He said:
Why would you come and say that? Listen, I think Mo Salah has been absolutely incredible for Liverpool as a player. He seems really quiet and keeps to himself but I think last year when he was vocal about not being given a new contract, I understand that he deserved getting the money he gets for playing for Liverpool but you can’t go and flip it and say what he says. I think that’s absolutely disrespectful to his teammates, manager and fans. Its incredible he came out with what he did.
Salah, who is set to be dropped from the Inter match as Liverpool prepare for the UEFA Champions League match-day 6 was reminded by Wayne Rooney that everyone gets past their prime years because time catches up eventually. He continued:
Time catches up with all of us when you are playing, and this season, he hasn’t looked at his best, at his sharpest. I have been quite vocal about that over the last couple of months, and clearly, Arne Slot has seen that and put him on the bench. What you would like to think is, he is one of the main players – if not the main player – for Liverpool over the last few years, and you want to see him roll his sleeves up and say, ok then, I’ll show you. To have the arrogance to say he doesn’t have to earn his place because he has already earned his place, you need to be at your best every week to try and stay in the team. That’s part of being in a team sport. If I was one of his teammates, I wouldn’t be happy at all with what he said because this is where Liverpool needs him most. If anything, he has thrown Liverpool under the bus with his words.
Here is the video of the Wayne Roone’s interview as shared by BBCSport’s official podcast. Watch below.
"This is where Liverpool need Mo Salah most and, if anything, he's thrown Liverpool under the bus" pic.twitter.com/mAOCHXQ1MX
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) December 8, 2025Liverpool are the defending champions of the premier league but currently sit ninth with 23 points after 15 matches so far and their next domestic match will be against Brighton on Saturday.
