MOHAMED SALAH could be using Liverpool as a “‘stepping stone” to Spanish giants Real Madrid or Barcelona, warned Gary Neville.
The Egyptian has scored more Premier League goals than any other player since he joined the Reds in 2017, winning successive Golden Boots.
The 27-year-old was also pivotal in last season’s Champions League triumph as well as Liverpool’s imminent title success.
Salah has been consistently linked with a big-money move to La Liga, and Neville reckons fans do not show the forward as much warmth as his teammates because of the feeling that he will leave the club.
The Manchester United legend said on Monday Night Football: “It’s never easy to replace a player like that.
“I said 18 months ago I thought Mo Salah would leave Liverpool.
“I think it’s a little bit more simple in the sense of why Liverpool fans maybe don’t demonstrate that love for Salah, and it’s affinity and loyalty.
I think there’s a feeling that he wants to go and play at Real Madrid. I think he is ultimately using Liverpool potentially as a stepping stone for his career
Gary Neville on Mo Salah
“I think there’s a feeling that he wants to go and play at Real Madrid, he’ll go to Barcelona, he’ll take the big move.
“That’s not a criticism of Mo Salah. I played with David Beckham, I played with Ruud van Nistelrooy, played with Cristiano Ronaldo – they wanted to aspire to win the Ballon d’Or, they wanted to play at Real Madrid, they wanted to be up in lights and play at the biggest clubs in the world.
“I think there’s a feeling, affinity, loyalty, ‘will he leave us?’, I think he could.
“I think he is ultimately using Liverpool potentially as a stepping stone for his career.
“He has aspirations to be [higher]. Let’s be honest, Real Madrid and Barcelona for a lot of players are the pinnacle.
“When a player maybe doesn’t celebrate other players’ goals or is popular in the team, when a player looks selfish and doesn’t pass to his team-mates when you’ve got a spirit like Liverpool have got, again those things just erode a little bit of confidence in the fans.
“Some players just aren’t naturally as popular as others purely because of the fact they are a little bit more selfish.
“Salah would be upset I think if a team won 2-0 and he missed two chances and didn’t score.”
