Former Liverpool striker, Michael Owen, believes Mohamed Salah should have exercised restraint rather than going public with his frustrations after the dramatic 3-3 draw at Elland Road.
Salah was benched for the third game in a row in Saturday’s clash with Leeds and, in a fiery post-match interview, accused the club of having “thrown [him] under the bus”, adding that he had “no relationship” with manager Arne Slot.
The Egyptian forward also hinted that next weekend’s fixture against Brighton could be his final appearance at Anfield.
Despite acknowledging Salah’s immense contribution to Liverpool since his arrival from Roma in 2017, Owen insisted that airing his grievances in front of cameras was not the right approach.
Posting on X, he wrote, “Oh Mo Salah I can imagine how you feel. You’ve carried this team for a long time and won everything there is to win.
“But this is a team game and you simply can’t publicly say what you’ve said.
“You’re going to afcon (Africa Cup of Nations) in a week. Surely you bite your lip, enjoy representing your country and see how the land lies when you get back?”
Salah, who was last season’s Premier League player of the year and Golden Boot winner, has found consistency harder to come by during this campaign.
Slot opted not to introduce the winger at Elland Road even as Liverpool surrendered a two-goal advantage and slipped further behind in the race for Champions League qualification.
After the final whistle, Salah voiced his anger, “It is not acceptable for me. I don’t know why this is happening to me. I don’t get it. I think if this was somewhere else, every club would protect its player.
“How I see it now is like you throw Mo under the bus because he is the problem in the team now. But I don’t think I am the problem. I have done so much for this club.
“The respect, I want to get. I don’t have to go every day fighting for my position because I earned it. I am not bigger than anyone, but I earned my position. It’s football. It is what it is.”
Former Reds midfielder Danny Murphy also weighed in, insisting that Salah should have handled the issue internally rather than causing turbulence publicly.
Murphy said on Match of the Day, “Knock on the manager’s door, see the owners, whatever you have to do, express your frustration.
“By doing this, he’s causing the team a problem and the manager a problem and making it all about him.
“You can’t do it. Whether you agree with him you don’t deal with it like this.
“Everyone has to fight for their place and perform at a certain level. A lot of other big-name players are getting stick and getting the fanbase turned against them a bit. Everyone is being judged.”
