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Liverpool legend and former captain Graeme Souness is “irritated and annoyed" by Mohamed Salah's outburst, which has cast a shadow over his future at Anfield.
Despite this, the revered Souness believes that the club's third-highest goalscorer still has more to offer before he concludes one of the most illustrious careers in modern Merseyside history.
Prior to being benched for the 2-0 victory against West Ham United at the end of November, Salah had started 53 consecutive Premier League matches for the Reds. The Egyptian then came on as a second-half substitute in the 1-1 draw with Sunderland days later, before missing the subsequent match at Leeds United, where Arne Slot's side drew 3-3.
Following the game at Elland Road, Salah launched an astonishing tirade, accusing the club of being "thrown under the bus" and alleging that his relationship with head coach Slot had deteriorated due to his demotion to the bench.
Souness, who made 359 appearances and clinched five league titles and three European Cups during his seven-year stint on Merseyside, criticised Salah for his explosive interview at Leeds but maintained that there is a path to redemption for the Egypt captain, reports the Liverpool Echo.
"One hundred percent [Salah was throwing his toys out the pram] – he made it all about him," Souness said. "Of course, he's not the only reason they've not been winning games, but if you look at it, he's been such a great player for that football club.
"How many games has he decided by a bit of his genius, creating something or scoring a goal himself? Lots of tight games in the past.
"He just needs to look in the mirror more – his numbers are nowhere near where they were last year and we're nearly at Christmas. He is part of the problem. The manager has said he feels that when you don't have the ball, Mo's not the best and he's never been the best.
"But he compensated for that by doing the hardest thing, which is creation and scoring goals. He was a master at that, but he's not been this year. I just think it's an obvious route the manager has taken.
"Mo Salah needs to have a look at himself in the mirror first and foremost. The manager oversaw a team that wasn't winning football matches, and Salah wasn't contributing.
"Mo goes down in history as a great for Liverpool. He gets in the all-time best team for me if you're picking 11 players, but that's in the past. When I saw his comments, it irritated and annoyed me in equal amounts.
"It was all about what he had done for the club and how he didn't have to turn up every day and fight for his place in training. Oh yes, you do. It's not what you've done for a football club, it's what you're going to do tomorrow. It's a bit like in any workplace – you get nothing for yesterday, it's all about tomorrow."
Souness, in conversation with the ECHO via SkyBet, remarked: "When you're a group of players, you've got 20, 25 guys – you don't all love each other, but when it comes to match day, you're certainly all in the same boat rowing in the same direction.
"What you discover at football clubs when you're winning every week is everyone's a big personality, everyone's a winner, everyone's got a strong personality. You only find out what you've got in the dressing room when things start to go pear-shaped. It's great that they're all singing off the same hymn sheet, but the way to prove that is on match day.
"You turn up, you give your all, and if you're a good group of players you win more games than you lose. They've been lacking in certain areas so far this year and they've got to get back to where they were last year."
After being omitted from the squad that traveled to Inter for the Champions League due to his interview at Leeds, Salah and Slot had a frank discussion last Friday before the Brighton and Hove Albion game. The No. 11 made a comeback as a first-half substitute in the 2-0 victory.
Souness added, "I don't believe for a minute that the manager has lost the dressing room or there's any sort of revolt within there, because he's acted how I would've acted and how any manager would.
"You must become difficult to beat going through a difficult period, conceding goals, losing games. The first thing you must do is make yourself difficult to play against. That's what he's tried to do by leaving Mo out.
"No, I don't think we've seen Salah play in a Liverpool shirt for the final time. He'll come back from the African Nations Cup, but I don't think they've moved any further forward with it. If you're trying to read between the lines, they had a chat, but nothing was resolved. It's quite simple to work out."
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