Mohamed Salah is set to leave Liverpool at the end of the season and the Egyptian has been strongly criticised for his public comments critiquing Arne Slot
Mohamed Salah of Liverpool reacts during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Quarter-Final Second Leg match between Liverpool FC and Paris Saint-Germain FC at Anfield
Mohamed Salah's recent outburst criticising the Arne Slot regime continues to attract scrutiny(Image: Carl Recine, Getty Images)
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Former Everton manager Sam Allardyce has said he would ban Mohamed Salah from playing in his Liverpool farewell if he were in charge. Salah, 33, is poised to conclude his nine-year stint at Anfield when the Reds welcome Brentford on Sunday.
The two-time Premier League winner has fallen out of favour under Arne Slot after his output declined this season. And having suggested he had been made a scapegoat by certain club figures in December, Salah launched another public attack following Friday's 4-2 defeat to Aston Villa.
The winger posted on social media and lamented the "heavy metal" football once delivered under Jurgen Klopp in what appeared an obvious dig at Slot's approach. Those remarks have been met with fierce disapproval, though, as Allardyce joined the wave of condemnation questioning his choice to publicly express his views before the campaign has finished.
"If Mohamed Salah is going to say those kinds of things, then say it when you've left," he said on BOYLE Sports and Footy Accumulators’ podcast, No Tippy Tappy Football. "Don't say it when you're still there, as if you're bigger than the football club.
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"If I were the Liverpool owners, I would ban him. I'd be thinking, 'Who do you think you are? You're not bigger than this football club'."
Bournemouth's stalemate against Manchester City on Tuesday means Liverpool are virtually assured of Champions League qualification next term. The only scenario in which they could be knocked out of the Premier League's top five is if they suffer a heavy home defeat to Brentford on Sunday while Bournemouth also triumph at Nottingham Forest.
Allardyce, 71, recalled Salah's outburst directed at his own club towards the close of 2025 after being dropped for a 3-3 stalemate against Leeds. And just as on that occasion, he has attracted criticism for failing to accept sufficient personal responsibility amid a slump in form.
Sam Allardyce on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast
Sam Allardyce wouldn't allow Salah a farewell fixture if he was calling the shots at Anfield(Image: No Tippy Tappy Podcast / YouTube)
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"It's brought the spat he had at the start of the season back to the fray and he's still been c**p ever since that as well," Allardyce continued. "Considering the player he was and what he used to be, he just hasn't done that this season."
"Salah should be looking at himself and how bad he's been this year. Players and managers can row in the office, but they should never make it public. If Salah did that in the [Sir Alex Ferguson] days, he'd never play again. He'd be finished."
Jamie Carragher, Wayne Rooney and John Arne Riise are among those to express similar sentiments in recent days. Given Liverpool's berth in next season's Champions League remains not quite certain and considering his latest dig, it would be surprising if he features in the starting XI against the Bees on Sunday.
It's unfortunate how the Anfield legend's time at the club has come to an end considering everything he's contributed for nearly a decade. The two-time Premier League Player of the Season will depart as a legend regardless but there's an unavoidable feeling his standing has been damaged by his public comments in recent months.
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