Liverpool dressing room response to Jamie Carragher criticism says it all amid Mo Salah jibe

Jamie Carragher may be Liverpool through and through, but he's never been one to shy away from ruffling a few feathers at the club. The former Reds defender was dragged into the eye of the storm this weekend after Mo Salah referenced his recent criticism during an extraordinary post-match interview in which he slammed both the club and manager Arne Slot.

Salah's Anfield future now looks to be hanging by a thread. He has been left out of Liverpool's squad to face Inter Milan in Tuesday's Champions League clash and a January exit looks increasingly likely. That said, uncertainty surrounding Salah's future is nothing new for either the player or the club.

Last season, the Egyptian entered the final year of his contract. Negotiations dragged on throughout the campaign before a deal was eventually struck in April, extending his stay until 2027.

At one stage, a breakthrough seemed unlikely. In a rare interview in November last year, Salah said he was "more out than in" regarding his Liverpool future and claimed there was no contract offer on the table.

Carragher was unimpressed. He accused the forward of acting "selfishly" by attempting to influence contract talks rather than focusing on Liverpool's title challenge. However, Reds full-back Andy Robertson later revealed that Carragher had been "getting a bit of stick" in the dressing room for those remarks.

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"I must say I am very disappointed with Salah," Carragher said on Sky Sports at the time. "In the seven years he's been at the football club, he stopped in the mixed zone [to talk to reporters] twice. Which is his right and is absolutely fine. But he decided to stop for the third time away at Southampton on the back of winning Liverpool in the game and putting that out.

"Now, the most important thing for Liverpool this season is not the future of Salah. It's not the future of Virgil van Dijk and it's not the future of Trent Alexander-Arnold. The most important thing is Liverpool winning the Premier League - that is more important than any of those players.

"If he continues to put comments out or his agent keeps putting cryptic tweets out, that's selfish. That's thinking about themselves and not the football club."

A few days later, Robertson appeared on CBS Sports, where Carragher is a regular analyst for the channel's Champions League coverage. The Scotland international wasted no time in letting Carragher know exactly how the Liverpool squad had reacted to his remarks about Salah, hinting that on that occasion, at least, the squad appeared to back Salah.

"He has been getting a bit of stick in the changing room that's for sure," Robertson said with a chuckle. Pressed for details, he playfully deflected: "No comment, I think I'll leave that!

"I think he [Carragher] gets paid to do his job and I think all you all do," he added. "It's part and parcel of football, he has to give his opinion and whether we agree with it or not, sometimes is a different story."

Despite galloping to the Premier League league title last season, Liverpool have looked completely out of sorts in 2025/26. They have suffered nine defeats in their last 15 matches in all competitions - their worst run in decades - with significant pressure mounting on Slot's shoulders.

Salah's form has also come under intense scrutiny. The 33-year-old has scored only five goals this season - and just seven since signing his new contract eight months ago. Even so, eyebrows were raised when he was dropped for Liverpool's clash with West Ham in November - and he hasn't started a match since.

After being left on the bench for a third consecutive game, this time against Leeds on Saturday, Salah once again stopped in the mixed zone for an interview - a move many viewed as tactical. He vented his frustration at being excluded, claiming he no longer had a relationship with Slot in an explosive interview.

He went further still, insisting he had been "thrown under the bus" by the club and made a scapegoat for Liverpool's poor form. He even suggested that figures within the club were trying to force him out - and argued he should not have to fight for his place in the team, describing his recent spell on the sidelines as "unacceptable."

The former Chelsea star then took a swipe at Carragher, pre-emptively predicting that the 47-year-old would criticise him. In response, Carragher fired back in emphatic fashion on Monday Night Football.

"I thought it was a disgrace what [Salah] did after the game," he said. "Some people have painted it as an emotional outburst, I do not think it was. I think whenever Salah stops in the mix zone, which he's done four times in eight years at Liverpool, it's choreographed between him and his agent to cause maximum damage and to strengthen his own position."

He added: "The one line that stands out for me is 'thrown under the bus.' He's thrown the club under the bus twice in the last 12 months. With the manager right now, he should be doing as much as he can to help the club get out of the worst run they've had since the 1950s and he hasn't done that.

"When we are talking about throwing people under the bus, he's thrown every Liverpool right-back under the bus for the 8 years. Can you imagine playing behind him for eight years? But we accept it because he's a superstar and he's scored 250 goals and he's given me as a Liverpool supporter some of the greatest nights of my life."

Carragher then twisted the knife further, questioning Salah's legacy beyond Anfield and suggesting the Egyptian owes far more to Liverpool than he appears to believe.

"You weren't a big star before you came to Liverpool, you haven't really won much for Egypt, no matter how big you are, you need help from your teammates, your manager and fans, it's important that he remembers that," Carragher said. "When he talks after Leeds, it's all about me, me, me."

Salah is set to depart for the Africa Cup of Nations on December 15 and will likely remain away until January, when the transfer window opens. Having been omitted from the squad to face Inter and with Liverpool's owners seemingly backing Slot, there is a growing sense that Salah may well have played his final game for the club.