‘Are you crazy?’ – Rio Ferdinand can’t believe what he’s heard from some Liverpool fans | OneFootball

Rio Ferdinand has hit out at what he believes to be ‘crazy’ takes from some Liverpool fans on Mo Salah.

The Egyptian became just the third man in history to score 250 goals for the Reds when he netted in the 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday night, taking his tally for the season to five, an unusually subdued haul by the beginning of November by his exceptional standards.

Wayne Rooney is among the pundits to have taken aim at the 33-year-old in recent weeks amid a six-match sequence without a goal earlier in the autumn, questioning the leadership and body language of the talismanic Egyptian forward.

Ferdinand hits out over ‘crazy’ criticism of Salah

However, similar to how Ferdinand applauded Virgil van Dijk’s ‘prickly’ response to criticism from his ex-Manchester United teammate, the former England defender has also spoken out strongly in defence of Salah and has been left baffled by some fans’ calls for the winger to be benched or even sold.

The 46-year-old said (via Rio Ferdinand Presents): “How long has Mo Salah been at Liverpool? Seven, eight years? Top scorer, breaking all sorts of records, and I’m seeing people, because he’s had a bit of a couple of months off it, or maybe three or four months off it in some people’s lives…

“‘He shouldn’t start. We should get rid of him.’ – Are you crazy?

“He’s given you seven or eight years of ridiculous numbers and ridiculous output, got you winning again, and you’re going after a little dizzy spell out of confidence. Maybe he’s dropped or whatever, form’s gone a little bit, and you’re going, ‘Let’s get someone else in’. You are nuts.”

(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Salah hasn’t been at his best, but he’s still vital to Liverpool

Even Salah’s most ardent backers would admit that, on the whole, his goal output and performance levels this season have regressed from what we’re used to seeing from him.

However, we can certainly see why Ferdinand is so aghast at some of the more extreme online takes about the 33-year-old, whose achievement in reaching 250 goals for Liverpool illustrates just how phenomenal a player he has been for so many years at Anfield.

The winger’s underlying performance metrics would suggest that some of the criticism of him has been way over the top, with figures from FBref contextualising his continued importance to Arne Slot’s side.

No Liverpool player should ever be considered literally undroppable, and even the greats of this club know that they’re liable to losing their place in the starting XI if their standards drop alarmingly.

However, we agree with Ferdinand that some of the recent criticism of Salah has been wildly excessive, and having scored in his two most recent outings, it seems as though the Egyptian might gradually be getting back into his usual goalscoring rhythm.

Make no mistake about it; he’ll be crucial for the Reds over the next few weeks until he jets off to the Africa Cup of Nations over the festive period.