View ImageLiverpool legend Steven Gerrard has offered his take on Mohamed Salah’s explosive comments about Arne Slot and the club(Image: TNT Sports and Getty Images)
Steven Gerrard believes Mohamed Salah was wrong to claim he had been ‘thrown under the bus’ by Liverpool. And he has called on captain Virgil van Dijk to attempt to play peacemaker between the Egyptian and Arne Slot.
Salah sent shockwaves throughout football after he hit out at his head coach and the club in an explosive interview after being left as an unused substitute for last weekend’s 3-3 draw at Leeds United.
Also throwing his own future with the club into doubt when speaking with reporters, including the ECHO’s Paul Gorst, as he admitted this weekend’s home clash with Brighton & Hove Albion could prove to be his last for the club, Salah was subsequently left out of the Liverpool travelling squad for Tuesday night’s trip to Inter Milan.
A late Dominik Szoboszlai penalty earned the Reds a 1-0 win, but Salah remained the name on everyone’s lips despite not being in Italy as the fallout from his comments continues.
Gerrard would defend Salah to an extent when appearing on TNT Sports as he offered his own take on the situation, calling back to his own experiences at Anfield with Luis Suarez and Brendan Rodgers.
And the Liverpool legend sent an ominous message if things aren’t resolved swiftly between Salah and the club, as he urged Van Dijk to intervene.
“He’s obviously really upset he’s not playing, which I respect,” Gerrard said of Salah. “He won’t sit out the team. I respect.
“A couple of lines about throwing people under the bus, (that’s) wrong. Need to reverse a little bit away from that, he needs to deal with that with the manager.
“This needs Virgil van Dijk to go… I was sorting this out for the benefit of not even so much the club or the team. It’s the fans. I’ve seen it and I’ve lived it.
“I lived it with Suarez when he fell out with Brendan face to face. I’ve seen it all and I’ve been there myself from a personal point of view.
“I’ve done the Salah statements in 30 seconds against (Manchester) United, and got sent off. So no-one’s perfect.
“We’ve all had head loss as players. We’ve all done emotional things where we think, ‘Oh’.
“And I know in time when this all calms, Mo will go, ‘I shouldn’t have said that. I maybe shouldn’t have said that and I was a bit emotional. I was a bit hasty’.
“But at the end of the day, Liverpool Football Club needs Mo Salah back playing well, back scoring goals, because he is the best player, the best scorer, and he will help them get out of this.
“If this goes on, this is bigger than what we all know and what we see.”
