Wayne Rooney Calls for Arne Slot to Drop Mohamed Salah for Final Game

Wayne Rooney has called on Arne Slot to make a brutal statement of authority by leaving Mohamed Salah out of Liverpool’s final game of the season against Brentford, insisting the Egyptian has “crossed a line” with his latest public swipe.

The Manchester United legend used his own show, The Wayne Rooney Show, to deliver a pointed critique of Salah’s behaviour in what are likely to be his final days at Anfield. The forward recently took to social media to demand a return to the “heavy metal” football associated with Jurgen Klopp – a message widely read as a direct challenge to Slot’s current approach.

Rooney didn’t hide his disappointment.

“I find it sad at the end of what he’s done and what he’s achieved at Liverpool,” he said. “It’s not the point for him to come out and aim another dig at Slot. He wants to play heavy metal football, so he’s basically saying he wants Jurgen Klopp football. Now I don’t think Mo Salah can cope with that type of football anymore. I think his legs have gone to play at that high tempo and high intensity.”

For Rooney, this was not just a nostalgic plea for a different style. It was a shot across the manager’s bow, and a destabilising one.

“He's almost just dropped the grenade and said he doesn't trust and believe in Arne Slot and almost thrown his teammates who are going to be there next season and let them have to deal with that as well and put them into a position.”

This is not the first flashpoint between Salah and his manager this season. Earlier in the campaign, the winger was dropped after accusing Slot and Liverpool of throwing him “under the bus” over his lack of regular starts. The tension has simmered ever since.

Salah’s legacy at Liverpool is unquestionable: one of the greatest to wear the shirt, with 257 goals to his name. Yet Rooney believes the recent outbursts are less about principle and more about protection – of reputation, not team.

“I think Salah's trying to vindicate himself and make himself feel better because he's had a very poor season,” Rooney claimed. “So I think he's been very selfish in what he's done in the two occasions. It's a shame and fans will be on his side, but I think when you look deeper into it and having been in a dressing room in a similar situation to that as well, Mo Salah knows exactly what he's doing.”

The numbers back up the sense of decline. After firing Liverpool to the Premier League title last season and hitting 29 league goals, Salah has managed just 12 in 40 appearances in all competitions this time around, with Liverpool set to limp home in fifth.

Rooney sees a familiar pattern from his own career. He referenced the moment Sir Alex Ferguson dropped him from the squad for the legendary manager’s final game at Old Trafford after a disagreement. For Rooney, that was a lesson in hierarchy. Managers must rule the dressing room, not the other way around.

“If I was Arne Slot, I’d have him nowhere near the stadium in the last game,” he insisted. “I had it with Alex Ferguson. I had a disagreement and fall out and at Alex Ferguson’s last game at Old Trafford, he left me out of the squad for that reason. That’s your manager. You can’t publicly disrespect him twice the way he has and get away with it. And that’s where if I was Arne Slot, I’d have to pull rank and just say, listen, you’re not coming anywhere near the place on Saturday, whether you like it or not. I really doubt he will do it, but I think he should.”

The debate over Salah’s send-off will rage. On one hand, an era-defining player. On the other, a messy final act.

“Of course he deserves a good send off but does he deserve it just for this? It’s the second time he’s done it. It’s just a shame to see one of the great icon of Premier League players leave the Premier League probably in this situation.”

All of this unfolds against a wider backdrop of frustration and fatigue on Merseyside. Liverpool’s title defence has crumbled in stark fashion. The intensity that once suffocated opponents has drained away, and with it the ferocious energy of Anfield on big nights.

Rooney sees that erosion clearly.

“I think that's the biggest change for me where you go to Anfield, the first thing you want to do is quieten the crowd. But I think actually by Liverpool not pressing they're quietening the crowd down themselves and frustrating the Liverpool fans,” he said. “And so that's the big, big change for me.”

The former England captain even suggested some players have “downed tools” during this bleak run, a damning accusation at any elite club and a serious warning sign for any manager trying to reshape a squad.

“I’m quite split in should he go or should he stay because he won the league last season, I think he deserves a bit more time, in terms of what we’ve seen this season. I don't feel right or good saying this, some players look like they've downed tools and that's a big problem if you see that or you feel that for the manager.”

So Slot stands at a crossroads. One game left, a legend on the brink of departure, a fanbase torn between gratitude and anger, and a dressing room that needs to be brought firmly back under control.

Does he bow to sentiment and give Salah a final Anfield farewell, or does he draw a hard line and make an example of his star?