Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard insists that Mohamed Salah was “wrong” to call out the Reds for “throwing him under the bus”.
Salah made those claims after Liverpool were held to a 3-3 draw against Leeds United over the weekend, while he insisted his relationship with Arne Slot is broken.
Subsequently, the Reds hierarchy and Slot chose to leave him out of their trip to Italy to face Inter Milan on Tuesday – which Liverpool won – in a joint decision.
It is unclear whether Salah will miss their clash against Brighton over the weekend, which would be his final match before he departs to play for Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Gerrard insists Liverpool “need” Salah “back playing well” for them to be a success under Slot this season with the situation not good for anyone, although he thinks the Egyptian stepped over the line.
Former Liverpool midfielder Gerrard said on TNT Sports: “He’s obviously really upset he’s not playing, which I respect. He obviously wants to help the team, which I respect.
“A couple of lines about throwing people under the bus, wrong. Need to reverse a little bit away from that, to deal with that with the manager. This needs Virgil van Dijk to go, ‘How are we sorting this out?’ Not even for so much for the benefit of the club, or the team, it’s the fans.”
Gerrard added: “I’ve seen this and I’ve lived it with (Luis) Suarez when he fell out with Brendan (Rodgers) face to face. I’ve been there and done it myself. I did the Salah statements in 30 seconds against (Manchester) United and got sent off.
“So no one’s perfect and we’ve all had head loss as players, where we’ve done emotional things. I think 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 and a bit hasty.’
“At the end of the day, Liverpool need Mo Salah back playing well, 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.”
“At the end of the day, Liverpool football club need Mo Salah back playing well”
Steven Gerrard gives his take on Mo Salah’s comments and his current situation at Liverpool 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/SGMcBV0jPV
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 10, 2025
Another former Liverpool star, Graeme Souness, insists that Salah “should be setting the standards” rather than causing problems for the management team.
Souness told talkSPORT: “The really damning thing for me was when he said he doesn’t have to turn up every day and fight for his place in training because of what he’s done for the club.
“I’ll throw this at you, as a manager you’ve always got half a dozen players that are not quite with you because they feel they should be starting every week.
“So he turns up, the star man turns up and they’re not at it in training. It’s an excuse for those five or six that are not quite with you to do the exact same thing.
“He should be setting the standards, there was a responsibility as a senior player.
“You must have good senior players at your football club, they have to take the responsibility of setting the standards for every single day in training.
“We had a guy called Phil Neal who would go to war every single day in training, he could fall out on him quite easily. Every single day in training, you’re led from the front every single day in training. That’s what he has to get back to.”