FIVE reasons Jamie Carragher is SO WRONG about Mo Salah | OneFootball

Carragher disappointed with Salah

Speaking on the forward’s contract situation on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, Carragher said: “Of course there’s been discussions. Right now, there’s obviously a big difference in the valuation, what Mo Salah and his agent value themselves at, whether that’s financially or in terms of length of contract, to what Liverpool do.

“The reason Liverpool won’t have offered a contract yet is because Mo Salah will turn it down.”

This all makes sense, it is clear that there are obstacles in the way of an agreement, but after this Carragher shared his thoughts on Salah’s interview, and this has bothered many supporters.

“I must say, I am very disappointed with Mo Salah,” the 46-year-old shared. “Liverpool have got Real Madrid midweek, and they’ve got Manchester City at the weekend. That’s the story for Liverpool right now.”

Whilst this is true, the nature of modern football means Liverpool are never far away from an important match, so when is Salah supposed to give the supporters the answers they are demanding?

“In the seven years he’s been at Liverpool he’s stopped in the mixed zone twice, which is absolutely fine, but you decide to stop for the third time away at Southampton on the back of winning Liverpool the game and putting that out.”

Maybe Salah’s decision was intentional, he had just proven his value to the team on the pitch, much like he did before he spoke out after the Manchester United match back in September.

Salah was likely venting his frustration that he can be so crucial to the team, but his future is still not decided.

Carragher talks about Liverpool’s priorities

The Liverpool legend, who played 737 times for the club, then discussed what he thinks the priority should be for the Reds this season.

“The most important thing for Liverpool football club this season is not the future of Mo Salah. It is not the future of Virgil van Dijk and it is 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.”

Whilst Carragher is right that Liverpool should be trying to win the Premier League, it feels like a moot point.

The players, the coaches and everyone involved with the Reds on-pitch activities should absolutely be focussed on winning the Premier League.

But Michael Edwards, Richard Hughes and FSG - who have no involvement in Liverpool’s on-pitch matters - should absolutely be focussed on the future of the club’s biggest stars.

Liverpool arrived at the position they now find themselves in because no one has been focussing on contracts for the last two seasons, and that is a mistake that the Reds cannot afford to repeat.

Mo Salah branded selfish by Carragher

Carragher’s focus then returned to Mo Salah’s bombshell mixed zone interview.

“If he continues to put comments out, or his agents continues to put cryptic tweets out, that is selfish.

“I would say Mo Salah is in the top five players to ever play for Liverpool … It is not about giving somebody what they want.”

As much as players must often put the club first, their individual needs still exist. Salah clearly wants a new deal at Liverpool and if he feels that the only way to progress negotiations is to publicly put pressure on the club then some blame must fall on Liverpool.

If Salah is truly one of the top five players to ever play for the club, then surely giving in to his demands, as long as they are reasonable, is fair.

If the sticking point is over the length of contract, then maybe Liverpool should concede? There is always the option to sell the player before his contract expires again.

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“I hope Mo Salah and the other two players who are involved in this, Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold, don’t feel like this club will fall apart if they ever move on.

“Steven Gerrard left the 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.”

Although Carragher is technically correct here, there was a five-year gap between Gerrard leaving and Klopp winning the Premier League.

Put into the context that it could be three of Liverpool's best players leaving, the wait to return to the top could be even longer.

Gerrard was also showing signs of decline before he made the decision to leave Anfield, Salah and Van Dijk are arguably in their prime, whilst Trent is only 26.

The Monday Night Football pundit concluded by saying: “Salah, would we miss him if he moved on? Of course you would. But I can assure you Liverpool will move on.”

This rings true, Salah or even all three of the out of contract trio leaving would not be the end of Liverpool Football Club, but it would certainly set them back a few years and that should be enough to prioritise a new contract.

Ultimately, only time will tell how Salah’s contract situation will conclude, but either way it will have big ramifications for the immediate future of Liverpool, and many fans will be siding with Salah over Carragher here.