Former England captain Wayne Rooney delivered a blunt assessment of Mohamed Salah's recent comments about not needing to "earn" his place in the Liverpool team.
Speaking on BBC's The Wayne Rooney Show, Rooney believes Salah's remarks have landed poorly inside the dressing room at a moment when Liverpool desperately needs their senior players to step forward.
The former Everton prodigy also questioned both Salah's sharpness and the message he sent to teammates during a spell where unity and resilience are already in short supply.
Rooney said: "Time catches up with all of us when you are playing, and this season, he hasn't looked at his best, at his sharpest. I have been quite vocal about that over the last couple of months, and clearly, Arne Slot has seen that and put him on the bench.
"What you would like to think is, he is one of the main players - if not the main player - for Liverpool over the last few years, and you want to see him roll his sleeves up and say, 'ok then, I'll show you.'
"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. That's part of being in a team sport.
"If I was one of his teammates, 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."
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