Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney talked about the recent issue of Mohammad Salah and Arne Slot as the manager. Rooney stated that he was disappointed by Salah’s comment toward the manager when his performance hasn’t been a big help for the struggling Liverpool this season.
Rooney added that Arne Slot’s decision to bench Mohammad Salah has been mainly due to Salah’s level of performance that has been dropping since the start of the season. Rooney felt that Salah thought that he didn’t have to fight for his position everyday because of what he already did in the past. For Rooney, it is not the right mentality to have if you are the star player, and also in the leadership group of the team.
He also pointed out that at the end, time will catch up and as a football player, Salah needs to know when it comes.
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, ‘Okay then, I’ll show you.’
“What is hard is when you get to that age, and your performances drop, you look for reasons why and the last person you look at is yourself. And I think that’s what’s happening with him.
“I am sure over the next couple of years, when he actually looks back at this, he will regret saying it. There’s only him who can get him out of this situation and that’s by playing better … and I know that sounds simple but rather than looking internally, he is looking for anything to put the blame on.”
Also read: Premier League Icons Talk About Situation of Salah and Liverpool – Price In UK
Rooney on His Time Decision to Leave Manchester United
Rooney also shared his story when he decided that it was the time for him to leave Manchester United for good. It was not the coach at that time that the former England national team should leave, but it was his own decision.
He revealed that a conversation with Jose Mourinho was all he needed to know that it was his time. Rooney then left Manchester United in 2017 and went back to the club he debuted at, Everton.
He already had a feeling when Zlatan Ibrahimovic came in 2016 with Mourinho as Manchester United at that time, after his amazing time at PSG.
Rooney recalled:
“I started the season with Zlatan and I knew José only plays one up front,”
“In the first three or four games, he played the two of us and I knew as soon as I had a bad game that I wasn’t going to play and Zlatan was going to be the forward.”
Rooney was in the starting line up for the opening few games for Manchester United that season with Juan Mata also progressing in the same position as him. After a few games, Wazza was starting to start the game from the bench.
Later that season, Rooney told Mourinho that he wanted to leave Manchester United and played more games.
He said:
“I went in and had an honest conversation with José and asked him if I could go on loan in January because I wanted to play and he said no. He said he needed me more so for the Europa League but I could leave in the summer,”
“I stood up, shook his hand, didn’t complain about it again, sat on the bench and came on and played a few games from then until the end of the season. But that was an honest conversation and two men shaking hands and agreeing on something which I think is probably the right thing to do.”
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Do you agree with Rooney’s view on the current issue of Mohammad Salah?
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Current Matchweek 14
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal ARS | 15 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 28 | 9 | 19 | 33 |
| 2 | Manchester City MCI | 15 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 35 | 16 | 19 | 31 |
| 3 | Aston Villa AVL | 15 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 22 | 15 | 7 | 30 |
| 4 | Crystal Palace CRY | 15 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 20 | 12 | 8 | 26 |
| 5 | Chelsea CHE | 15 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 25 | 15 | 10 | 25 |
| 6 | Manchester United MUN | 15 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 26 | 22 | 4 | 25 |
| 7 | Everton EVE | 15 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 18 | 17 | 1 | 24 |
| 8 | Brighton and Hove Albion BHA | 15 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 25 | 21 | 4 | 23 |
| 9 | Sunderland SUN | 15 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 18 | 17 | 1 | 23 |
| 10 | Liverpool LIV | 15 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 23 |
| 11 | Tottenham Hotspur TOT | 15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 25 | 18 | 7 | 22 |
| 12 | Newcastle United NEW | 15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 21 | 19 | 2 | 22 |
| 13 | Bournemouth BOU | 15 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 21 | 24 | -3 | 20 |
| 14 | Brentford BRE | 15 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 21 | 24 | -3 | 19 |
| 15 | Fulham FUL | 15 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 20 | 24 | -4 | 17 |
| 16 | Leeds United LEE | 15 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 19 | 29 | -10 | 15 |
| 17 | Nottingham Forest NFO | 15 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 25 | -11 | 15 |
| 18 | West Ham United WHU | 15 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 17 | 29 | -12 | 13 |
| 19 | Burnley BUR | 15 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 16 | 30 | -14 | 10 |
| 20 | Wolverhampton Wanderers WOL | 15 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 8 | 33 | -25 | 2 |
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