Jamie Carragher has branded Mo Salah "selfish" for discussing his Liverpool contract situation in a rare public interview after Sunday's 3-2 win at Southampton. Salah was characteristically crucial in the Reds' comeback triumph at St. Mary's, scoring twice after the hosts took a second-half lead.
The dramatic victory extended Liverpool's lead at the Premier League summit to eight points, continuing the near-perfect start to Arne Slot's reign.
However, Salah made more headlines after the match when he decided to open up to the media about his uncertain future on Merseyside.
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The 32-year-old winger is set to become a free agent at the end of the season and admitted he was "disappointed" that Liverpool hadn't yet tabled a new contract offer.
He added that he was "probably more out than in," fuelling speculation that the current campaign will be the last of his eight-year stretch at the club.
Salah's comments marred the positive outlook on Liverpool's latest triumph, and Carragher didn't hold back with his assessment on Monday Night Football.
"Of course, there have been discussions, yeah," the former Liverpool defender explained on Sky Sports.
"Right now, there's obviously a big difference in the valuation from what Mo Salah and his agent value themselves at, whether that's financially or in terms of length of contract, to what Liverpool do.
"So the reason Liverpool wouldn't have offered the contract yet is because Mo Salah will turn it down. So they're still in talks. I'm desperate for them to meet in the middle."
However, while Carragher wants Salah to commit his future to Liverpool, he made his ill feelings about the incident abundantly clear.
He added: "But I must say, I am very disappointed with Mo Salah for that interview yesterday, last night, after the game, and it comes out today.
"Liverpool have got Real Madrid midweek, and they've got Manchester City at the weekend. That's the story for Liverpool right now.
"And Mo Salah, we're all quite aware, certainly the local reporters are in Liverpool, that in the seven years he's been at the football club, he stopped in the mixed zone twice, which is absolutely fine.
"But he decided to stop for the third time away at Southampton on the back of winning Liverpool the game and putting that out.
"Now, the most important thing for Liverpool Football Club this season is not the future of Mo 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.
"And 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."
Monday Night Football host David Jones suggested Salah's decision may have resulted from feeling a lack of love and respect from a club he has given so much over the last decade.
"Well, he's certainly getting the love from me and Liverpool supporters, and they're in talks, that is part of football," Carragher responded.
"I would say Mo Salah is in the top five players to ever play for Liverpool Football Club. I would go Steven Gerrard, Kenny Dalglish, Graham Souness, Ian Rush, and I'd put Mo Salah in fifth position.
"That's how high I rate him. That's how special this guy is."
But when Jones questioned, in that case, why Liverpool wouldn't meet his hefty demands, Carragher insisted that Salah, like other icons in the club's history, isn't irreplaceable.
He added: "No, it's not about giving somebody what they want.
"But what I would say is, I hope Mo Salah and the other two players involved in this - Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold - feel like this club will fall apart if they ever move on.
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"Steven Gerrard left the football club, the next manager came in and won the league. Steven Gerrard didn't win the league. Jurgen Klopp won the league with a new team.
"Kenny Dalglish, at that time Liverpool's greatest-ever player, when he stopped playing, Peter Beardsley came in and was probably part of the greatest football team we've ever seen in a red shirt in 1988.
"Graham Souness left... Liverpool won the double for the first time in their history two years later, in 1986. Ian Rush moved on, after that came John Aldridge. And later when Ian Rush moved on, Robbie Fowler came.
"And Salah, would you miss him if he moved on? Of course, you would. But I can assure you Liverpool will move on."
