‘Mohamed Salah threw Liverpool under the bus’, not the other way around: Wayne Rooney

Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah is destroying his legacy at the club with his fiery reaction to being left out of the squad, former Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has said.

Salah has failed to start Liverpool’s last three games and lashed out at the club and coach Arne Slot after Saturday’s 3-3 Premier League draw with Leeds United. He said he had been made a scapegoat for his club’s poor start to the season.

The Egyptian, who signed a two-year contract extension in April, has become an iconic figure in eight years at Liverpool. He won two Premier League titles and scored 250 goals in all competitions.

However, he has only scored five goals and has played in 19 games in all competitions this season.

“He is absolutely destroying his legacy at Liverpool,” Rooney said on his podcast. «It would be sad for him to throw it all away. He went about it all wrong.»

“Arne Slot must show his authority and stop him and say: ‘You are not traveling with the team, what you said is not acceptable.’

«Go to AFCON (Africa Cup of Nations) and let everything calm down. If I were him, there’s no way he would be in the team.»

Salah had said he felt he had been “thrown under the bus” as Liverpool failed to reproduce last season’s title-winning form.

The Reds are ninth in the current season, 10 points behind leaders Arsenal after fifteen games.

“If anything, he threw Liverpool under the bus with his words…,” Rooney said. “I am sure he will regret what he said for years to come.”

Published on December 8, 2025