Rooney says Salah should be dropped for Liverpool farewell

Former Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney says Liverpool should drop Mohamed Salah from the squad for the final match of the season against Brentford at Anfield.

Salah posted on social media after a 4-2 defeat by Aston Villa that Liverpool must return to being a "heavy metal attacking team that opponents fear." He added that the style "cannot be negotiable" and that everyone who joins the club should adapt to it. The comments were widely seen as criticism of head coach Arne Slot.

Salah, 33, will leave Liverpool at the end of the season after scoring 257 goals and winning six major trophies in nine years. Rooney said the forward should not be in the stadium for Sunday's game.

"I find it sad at the end of what he's done and what he's achieved at Liverpool," Rooney said on the Wayne Rooney Show. "It's not the point for him to come out and aim another dig at Slot."

Rooney said Salah was calling for a return to the high-tempo style of former manager Jurgen Klopp. "Now I don't think Mo Salah can cope with that type of football anymore," he said. "I think his legs have gone to play at that high tempo and high intensity."

Rooney recalled being left out of Manchester United's squad by Alex Ferguson after a disagreement. "If I was Arne Slot, I'd have him nowhere near the stadium in the last game," he said.

Salah announced in March that he would leave Anfield. In December he told reporters that his relationship with Slot had broken down. He scored 29 Premier League goals last season as Liverpool won the title in Slot's first season in charge, but he has managed only 12 goals in 40 games this season.

Rooney said Salah had been selfish in his public comments. "You can't publicly disrespect him twice the way he has and get away with it," he said. "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."