Rio Ferdinand has emphatically defended one Liverpool player who’s recently found himself bearing the brunt of criticism from numerous pundits.
There was a queue of talking heads lining up to take potshots at Mo Salah after his touchline dispute with Jurgen Klopp towards the end of April, with Graeme Souness even labelling him ‘the most selfish player I have ever witnessed’.
However, the ex-Manchester United defender was having none of the ‘disrespect’ towards the 31-year-old, cutting loose on the latest instalment of his Vibe with FIVE show on YouTube.
Ferdinand said: “Can I just say something about Mo Salah – I think he’s been disrespected recently. I’ve seen a lot of comments about him. I’ve seen people talking about him, caning him. I don’t think there’s been a debate that Mo Salah has been world class for a number of years. Maybe this season he’s tailed off but in his pomp years at Liverpool, absolutely world class.
“Real Madrid only win that Champions League final [in 2018] because he came off injured. Up until that moment he came off injured Liverpool were on the front foot, as soon as he came off everything changed.
“His numbers are off the charts, I don’t understand it, it’s unbelievable. Mo Salah I think has been so disrespected. I saw Graeme Souness, Troy Deeney and Simon Jordan, I couldn’t believe the disrespect I was seeing about him, I couldn’t believe it, they were talking about him like he’s just any guy.”
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Ferdinand added: “I don’t know how you can debate if Mo Salah has been world class at any point in his career at Liverpool. It’s off the scale to even question him. I don’t care; it’s mad. He’s won trophies, he’s the player who decides games for them consistently and he has done it at the top level.”
The ex-United defender is exactly right – Salah might’ve endured a slump in form during April, but one bad month shouldn’t discolour how consistently exceptional he’s been in his seven years at Liverpool.
For the likes of Souness to go in two-footed on him over a momentary dispute with Klopp is totally uncalled for, and the Egyptian delivered the best possible response to his detractors by scoring in a fine performance in our win over Tottenham on Sunday.
Ferdinand is right – how anyone could question the 31-year-old’s credentials is just baffling.
You can view the discussion in full below (from 17:52), via Rio Ferdinand Presents FIVE on YouTube: