Mohamed Salah posted on social media June 1 calling for Liverpool to return to a "heavy metal attacking team" style of football that opponents fear, criticizing the current approach under head coach Arne Slot [1, 2, 3]. "I want to see Liverpool go back to being the heavy metal attacking team that opponents fear and back to being a team that wins trophies," Salah said. "That is the football I know how to play and that is the identity that needs to be recovered and kept for good." [1]
Salah’s comments came after Liverpool’s 4-2 defeat to Aston Villa, a result he described as "painful and not what fans deserve," adding the team "must recover its identity" [1, 2]. He has scored 12 Premier League goals this season but Liverpool languishes in fifth place mid-season, falling short of Champions League qualification in a campaign marked by inconsistency [3].
The forward, who won the Premier League title last season by scoring 29 goals under Slot, is leaving Liverpool after nine years with 257 goals for the club [3, 2]. His social media post has drawn sharp criticism from former Liverpool players Jamie Carragher and Wayne Rooney. Carragher labeled Salah "selfish" and said the team needed to focus on its Champions League qualification, not on individual issues [1]. Rooney said he would drop Salah from Liverpool’s final match of the season against Brentford at Anfield on May 24 because of his comments. "It's not the point for him to come out and aim another dig at Slot," Rooney said. "If I was Arne Slot, I'd have him nowhere near the stadium in the last game." [3, 4]
Despite the backlash, many current and former Liverpool players, including Trent Alexander-Arnold, have publicly supported Salah by liking his post on Instagram [2].
Salah’s farewell game for Liverpool will be the final match of the 2025-26 season against Brentford on May 24 at Anfield [2, 3]. The showdown will mark the end of a storied chapter at the club for the Egyptian forward.
