Mohamed Salah’s Brutal Swipe at Arne Slot Pits Players, Fans, Legends Against Each Other

Liverpool’s legendary former captain Steven Gerrard described Mohamed Salah’s social media assault on the Merseyside club as a “damning” indictment on the standing of Arne Slot within the locker room.

Rather than get drawn into his personal opinion on an explosive post which described Slot’s side as a “crumbling” club that needs to get back to being “the heavy metal attacking team that opponents fear,” Gerrard focused on reading between the lines. Not everyone has been so neutral.

Salah’s staggering takedown of Liverpool’s current playing style follows on from his midseason swipe at Slot, after the Dutch boss dropped him to the bench. Manager and player appeared to have come to an uneasy alliance over the second half of the season but as Salah prepares for his final Liverpool appearance next Sunday, he felt compelled to inform the club that they should hark back to the approach which brought so much success under Slot’s predecessor, Jürgen Klopp.

“It cannot be negotiable and everyone that joins this club should adapt to it,” Salah argued.

For many neutrals, the widespread reaction to Salah’s outburst has been one of immediate disdain. How can a player fire out demands to his soon-to-be-former employers about the way they should play in his absence? Even if Salah was staying on Merseyside, some may question what influence he should have over the team’s tactics given his role as a player rather than manager.

Yet, there has been a very different, much more forgiving response to Salah’s sharp words from Liverpool’s fanbase—and even some of the roster.

Steven Gerrard Reveals Meaning Behind Salah’s Slot Takedown

Steven Gerrard looking pained. — Steven Gerrard has been out of work since January 2025. | Alfie Cosgrove/News Images/NurPhoto/Getty Images

“Wow,” that was the initial reaction Gerrard had to the incendiary post. Once the retired midfielder had gathered his thoughts, he explained to TNT Sports how Salah was not just aiming a bitter jab at Slot, but was using his platform to expose to the world a supposed rift in Liverpool’s locker room.

“Mo Salah doesn’t really speak much, and he doesn’t tweet, and he certainly doesn’t tweet like that,” Gerrard aptly surmised.

“So I think that he’s sending a message to the outside that things in that Liverpool dressing room are not right: the identity’s gone, and it’s really hurting him to see it in front of his own eyes.

“I’m surprised of the timing. One game to go, his last game for Liverpool,” Gerrard added. “That is quite damning to the Liverpool manager and the staff in terms of where this team’s at. That’s my opinion on that.

“Is he speaking off his own back for the sake of everyone else in the dressing room? It’s strange, it’s unusual.”

The question of whether this was a universally shared opinion among Liverpool’s roster was hinted at by the squad’s reaction on social media.

Liverpool Players ‘Like’ Salah Social Post

Salah’s post on Instagram received more than 950,000 ‘likes’ in the first 24 hours after it was released. Among those numerous taps on social media, a surprisingly large number of current Liverpool players were shown to have dropped a heart on this savage attack against their own club.

The likes of Dominik Szoboszlai, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké, Ryan Gravenberch and Curtis Jones all liked Salah’s post, as captured by ESPN. While it’s little surprise that outgoing figures such as Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konaté backed up the frustrations of their teammate, several players who are expected to have long futures at Anfield publicly supported a statement which tore down their current employers.

It’s important to stress that a social media like is not a legally binding endorsement from any Liverpool player. Many athletes don’t run their own account and even the ones that do may not have closely scrutinized Salah’s lengthy commentary. Nevertheless, it’s not a great look for a club which seem so publicly wedded to the idea of sticking with Slot in the face of such adversity.

Social Media Reaction to Salah’s Outburst Exposes Slot’s Tenuous Status

Mohamed Salah has not minced words in his final season with Liverpool. | Catherine Ivill/AMA/Getty Images

While it’s hard to root out much nuance in the social media age, the overwhelming reaction among many Liverpool fans to Salah’s tirade has been one of acceptance.

Salah effectively captured a complaint that many supporters have made throughout a truly dire defense of their Premier League title: results cannot be guaranteed in a sport as fickle as soccer, but the manner of Liverpool’s failure this term has been too boring for many to accept.

We embarrass ourselves in a public manner on a weekly basis though, that's kinda why Salah is saying what he's saying.
— Sam McGuire (@SamMcGuire90) May 17, 2026

In a competition between Salah, Liverpool’s third all-time highest goalscorer who has won two Premier League titles and reached three Champions League finals, and Slot, whose league triumph has been balance by a painfully bloodless style, there is only one clear winner for the fans.

Salah: I want the standards to remain high, Liverpool to play good football that the opposition fears, and to be regularly competing for trophies

English media: Drop him. This is a declaration of war. Fans will turn on him.

And they wonder why they're losing jobs to fan media. https://t.co/K9Qz5WDIfR
— barry (@BackseatsmanLFC) May 17, 2026

Liverpool as an institution supposedly have a lot more faith in Slot. Should he last until next season, Jamie Carragher has predicted a shift in stance from the fanbase.

“The Liverpool support will be there for him next year,” the legendary retired defender told Sky Sports before Friday night’s implosion against Aston Villa. “I don’t think it’s there now.

“As a support, whoever puts on that red shirt, or is in that dugout at the start of the season, you support them. There’s been a lot of frustration throughout the season, the performances and results haven’t improved for a long time now. That’s the big worry with the Arne Slot in the eyes of the supporters.”

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