Former Liverpool defender jumps to defense of Mohamed Salah after “disgusting” criticism
Mohamed Salah ended his era at Anfield after the season, but his exit was shrouded in controversy and criticism but his ex teammate has stood by his side.
Mohamed Salah became a club legend at Liverpool over the last decade, but his exit from Anfield has been anything but a dream after becoming a scapegoat for many pundits and explayers. Salah’s former teammate and good friend, Dejan Lovren, jumped to the Egyptians defense, calling the criticism “disgusting.”
Lovren sticks up for buddy Salah
Lovern, who now plays for PAOK in Greece, was at Liverpool when Salah arrived to the club in 2017. The two quickly became friends and spent three seasons together in Merseyside. They won a Premier League together in Lovren’s last year which has been a much easier send off then the one that Salah suffered through over the last season.
Just a year after Salah’s career season which helped lead Liverpool to a Premier League title, his second with the club, the Egyptian seemed to fall out of favor under manager Arne Slot. Slot came to a squad that was already structured, and Salah was a pivotal part of that in his title-winning first season, but Slot’s second season saw him fall out of favor and Liverpool suffer a disappointing season in which they won no trophies.
— Mohamed Salah (@MoSalah) March 24, 2026
Salah came under criticism from many because of the way he singled out the manager, both on camera and on social media. That opened the door for plenty of pundits to target the Egyptian, and Lovren has heard enough. “The way they treated him this season is not harsh,” he said. “It’s disgusting. Why didn’t they talk about him like this for the past eight or nine years? Tell me... OK, one season, and then he’s the target again. There are so many other issues.”
Slot to blame for Salah exit, says Lovren
Slot was fired after the season, and Lovren claims that if the club had acted in swifter fashion, Salah might still be on the books at Liverpool. Instead, Salah announced he would be departing from the club in late March, and now it seems like there is no going back on his word. “I don’t think it’s the management (that pushed Salah to leave),” the current PAOK man said. “I think it’s just one person, and I think it’s just the manager. They didn’t have a good relationship. Let’s put it simply. With Klopp, he had a really good relationship.”
Lovren made sure to put Carragher in the category of those who treated Salah unfairly in the final year after all the Egyptian had done for the club. The center back who came in to help replace Carragher when he retired in 2013 said that his predecessor’s comments on television are based on bringing in ratings, and that Carragher would never criticize Salah like that in person. “Some pundits do it just to attract attention, maybe because they haven’t succeeded in other areas of their lives, so now they need to perform well... especially Carragher, he says whatever he wants. I always said he should tell him this to his face, say all these things to Mo to his face.”
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