TalkSPORT pundit Tony Cascarino has come out to back Mohamed Salah, after the Liverpool legend publicly slammed Arne Slot’s style of football in a lengthy social media statement, which coincided with the Reds’ sobering 4-2 defeat on the road to Aston Villa.
Mohamed Salah might have only been on the Villa Park turf for the last 16 minutes of the Premier League clash, but he certainly made his feelings known post-match about what he thought of the loss.
It was another match where Liverpool were shown up by an opponent who played with more verve and pace than the Merseyside giants, as Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers ran riot for Unai Emery’s hosts.
The nature of the defeat, which leaves the Reds hanging onto their Champions League status for next season, triggered Salah into explosively taking to social media to make his feelings known about Arne Slot.
Salah said: ” have witnessed this club go from doubters to believers, and from believers to champions. It took hard work and I always did everything I could to help the club get there. Nothing makes me prouder than that
“Us crumbling to yet another defeat this season was very painful and not what our fans deserve. I want to see Liverpool go back to being the heavy metal attacking team that opponents fear and back to being a team that wins trophies.
🚨🔥 Mo Salah statement.
“I have witnessed this club go from doubters to believers, and from believers to champions. It took hard work and I always did everything I could to help the club get there. Nothing makes me prouder than that”.
“Us crumbling to yet another defeat this… pic.twitter.com/vCCeLvFpSk
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 16, 2026
“That is the football I know how to play and that is the identity that needs to be recovered and kept for good. It cannot be negotiable and everyone that joins this club should adapt to it.
“Winning some games here and there is not what Liverpool should be about. All teams win games.
“Liverpool will always be a club that means a great deal to me and to my family. I want to see it succeed for long after I have moved on.
“As I’ve always said, qualifying to next season’s Champions League is the bare minimum and I will do everything I can to make that happen.”
Calling for “heavy metal attacking football” to return, like the glory days of Jurgen Klopp, this did feel like a public takedown of Slot, who Salah hasn’t always seen eye to eye with during their two seasons at Anfield together.
Acknowledging that he will do “everything” he can to ensure Liverpool wins on the final day to secure a spot in the coveted Champions League, here’s hoping that the 33-year-old can let his football do the talking against Brentford.
Sky Sports’ Gary Neville criticised the timing of the statement from the much-loved Reds servant, by stating: “He’s pulled the pin out of a grenade there and just thrown it into the middle of the room. On his way out of the room, by the way!
"He's pulled the pin out of a grenade and thrown it in the middle of the room"
"If it was a Man Utd player, I would be fuming"
Gary Neville discusses Mohamed Salah's "telling" comments that he made last night 😳 pic.twitter.com/oLbFlB9T9x
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) May 17, 2026
“All’s not happy over there. It’s not great. If it was a Manchester United player I’d be fuming.”
While the former Red Devils defender has gone out of his way to criticise, TalkSPORT pundit Tony Cascarino has decided to side with Salah when speaking on the statement on Sunday, two days on from the dire Villa defeat.
Cascarino’s thoughts on Salah statement
Cascarino hasn’t held back this season when it comes to offering his own harsh words about Slot.
Indeed, earlier in the season, he blasted the decision-making from the Dutchman to keep not picking Andy Robertson in the left-back spot.
Now, he is sympathising with Salah’s impassioned comments when speaking on TalkSPORT on Sunday.
👎 "I don't like their style, it's an eredivisie style!"
✅ "I agree with him!"
Tony Cascarino agrees with Mo Salah's public criticism of Liverpool's style of play pic.twitter.com/D7nbICcB4x
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) May 17, 2026
He said, when addressing the number 11’s long social media post: “I agree with him, yeah. I think he’s right. Now, I’m not excusing Mo. Mo’s not played well this year, you know, but there are other reasons apart from Mo.
“Mo’s not been in the team and they’ve still played terrible, and they’ve still been battered. You know, Mo’s been left out in recent games.
“Mo hasn’t played well, but for nine years of his nearly 10 years since he’s been at Anfield, he’s been superb and carried the team. And I think Mo is not doing this on, oh well, I’ve been left out and oh, I’m now going to say what I think about Liverpool.
“He’s announced he’s leaving and he’s telling everybody, this is how Liverpool has to play, and I agree with him. All right, fair play.”
The hope will be, whatever differences Salah and Slot hold against each other, that the under-pressure head coach starts the 33-year-old on the final game of the season.
All these comments would be swiftly pushed to one side if the two-time Premier League winner were to deliver another immense moment of magic, on his final ever Reds outing, to secure Champions League football.
Past this, it will be interesting to see how long Slot survives in the dug-out, with Salah not his biggest fan, based on these comments.