Surely you bite your lip – Michael Owen criticises Mohamed Salah outburst

By Mark Walker, Press Association

Former Liverpool striker Michael Owen said Mohamed Salah should have ‘bitten his lip’ following his explosive outburst at Elland Road.

Salah was named as a substitute for the third successive match in Saturday’s thrilling 3-3 draw against Leeds and claimed in a post-match interview that he had been “thrown under the bus” and had no relationship with manager Arne Slot.

The Egypt star also claimed next week’s match against Brighton could be his last game at Anfield.

While Owen said he sympathised with Salah, who has established himself as one of Liverpool’s greatest ever players since joining from Roma in 2017, he said he should not have laid bare his feelings in public.

Owen posted on X: “Oh Mo Salah I can imagine how you feel. You’ve carried this team for a long time and won everything there is to win.

“But this is a team game and you simply can’t publicly say what you’ve said.

“You’re going to afcon (Africa Cup of Nations) in a week. Surely you bite your lip, enjoy representing your country and see how the land lies when you get back?”

Salah scooped the Premier League’s player-of-the-year award last season and the Golden Boot but has struggled to reproduce his best form in the current campaign.

Oh @mosalah 🫣 I can imagine how you feel. You’ve carried this team for a long time and won everything there is to win. But this is a team game and you simply can’t publicly say what you’ve said. You’re going to afcon in a week. Surely you bite your lip, enjoy representing your…

— Michael Owen (@themichaelowen) December 7, 2025

Slot refused to turn to Salah, who remained on the bench at Elland Road as his side conceded a 2-0 lead to lose more ground on the top four.

After the game, Salah said: “It is not acceptable for me. I don’t know why this is happening to me. I don’t get it. I think if this was somewhere else, every club would protect its player.

“How I see it now is like you throw Mo under the bus because he is the problem in the team now. But I don’t think I am the problem. I have done so much for this club.

“The respect, I want to get. I don’t have to go every day fighting for my position because I earned it. I am not bigger than anyone, but I earned my position. It’s football. It is what it is.”

But ex-Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy was also critical of Salah’s outburst and said all the Egyptian’s frustrations should have remained within “the four walls of the club”.

Murphy said on Match of the Day: “Knock on the manager’s door, see the owners, whatever you have to do, express your frustration.

“By doing this, he’s causing the team a problem and the manager a problem and making it all about him.

“You can’t do it. Whether you agree with him you don’t deal with it like this.

“Everyone has to fight for their place and perform at a certain level. A lot of other big-name players are getting stick and getting the fanbase turned against them a bit. Everyone is being judged.”