Gary Neville explains what Mohamed Salah statement means for Liverpool | OneFootball

Departing club legend appears to take aim against at under-fire manager Arne Slot

Gary Neville says Mohamed Salah has "pulled the pin out of the grenade" with the Liverpool star's latest public statement.

In what appears to be another thinly veiled attack on under-fire manager Arne Slot, Salah described Friday night's 4-2 defeat at Aston Villa as "very painful" and called for a return of so-called "heavy metal football", which predecessor Jurgen Klopp was known for.

Slot has previously hit out at Slot, notably claiming in December that he had been "thrown under the bus" and had no relationship with the head coach after being named as a substitute for three games in a row.

Salah will play no part of Liverpool's future, with his summer exit announced a number of weeks ago, but Neville says it is no surprise a player of Salah's "stature" could not stay quiet.

Mo Salah is leaving at the end of the season

Getty

"He's pulled the pin out of a grenade right in the middle of the room. And he's walking out of the room," Neville on Sky Sports. “Mo's not happy over there ... It's not great. If he was a Manchester United player, I'd be fuming.

"But what you can never do with this kind of player, with this kind of stature and personality, is keep them quiet. If they've got something to say, they're going to say it. And they're going to say it at the point where you don't want to hear it.

"That was a telling comment. Arne Slot will not welcome it whatsoever. But he will just want to get to the end of the season, get out of there, get everyone out of there that's not going to be there next season, and try and build."

Neville insists he is happy Slot will seemingly stay in charge. He added: "The signing of Xabi Alonso did tell me that Liverpool are going to keep their manager.

"Which I'm happy about. A manager who won the league 12 months ago deserves another chance to get it right, having had a more challenging season this time. He's still in the Champions League. But Salah's comment won't be helpful."