Wayne Rooney insists Mohamed Salah is "destroying his legacy" by disrespecting his Liverpool team-mates and manager Arne Slot through his incendiary comments at Elland Road on Saturday.
Salah declared in an interview after the 3-3 draw with Leeds that he had been "thrown under the bus", had no relationship with Slot and that Saturday's clash with Brighton could be his final game at Anfield.
The 33-year-old Egypt forward was angry at being named on the bench for a third successive match as Liverpool react to the early collapse of their Premier League title defence.
This morning Salah smiled and chatted to team-mates as he attended Liverpool's first training session since his incendiary outburst.
There was no sign of disharmony as the squad were put through their paces at the club's training ground ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Inter Milan at the San Siro.
Having arrived on to the field in conversation with Hugo Ekitike, Salah listened as boss Arne Slot addressed the squad and then took part in a series of warm-up and passing drills.
The session was overseen by Slot, who must now decide whether to involve the 33-year-old Egypt forward in this week’s European action as well as Saturday’s Premier League showdown with Brighton at Anfield.
"Why? Why would you come out and say that?" the former Manchester United striker said on The Wayne Rooney Show.
"It's disrespectful to his team-mates, to his manager and to the fans. It’s incredible that he came out with what he did.
"He’s absolutely destroying his legacy at Liverpool. His legacy he can have is massive. Some of the legends who have played for Liverpool and he is right up there with them.
"It would be sad for him to throw it all away and how he has gone about not playing and being on the bench, he has gone about it all wrong.
"Liverpool fans – I know a lot of them – they won’t accept those comments, no luck.
"To have the arrogance to say he doesn’t have to earn his place because he has already earned his place – you need to be at your best every week to try and stay in the team.
"If I was one of his team-mates, I wouldn’t be happy at all with what he said because this is where Liverpool need him most. If anything, he has thrown Liverpool under the bus with his words."
Rooney however Slot must take a strong stance against the Egyptian star.
"Arne Slot has to show his authority and just pull him in and say 'listen, you are not travelling with the team. What you said is not acceptable. Take yourself off to the African Cup of Nations and let everything calm down’," Rooney said.
"If Slot keeps him in the squad, there will be questions. If I was Arne Slot, there’s no way I’d have him anywhere near the team.
"He’s going to have the protection from next week of being away with Egypt, his timing on it, he has done for a reason.
"Very premeditated what he has done. He has done it, so he can drop that bombshell and then go away with Egypt.
"That will be a good thing for Liverpool, to get him out of the way with what’s happened and focus on the new players."
Former Liverpool striker Michael Owen said Salah should have not publicised his frustrations. While Owen said he sympathised with Salah, who has established himself as one of Liverpool's greatest ever players since joining from Roma in 2017, he said he should not have laid bare his feelings in public.
"Oh Mo Salah I can imagine how you feel," Owen posted on X: "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."
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