Gary Neville has drawn comparisons between Mohamed Salah and Cristiano Ronaldo after the Liverpool star was left as an unused substitute against Leeds United before being dropped from the Inter Milan squad
Gary Neville has compared Mohamed Salah to Cristiano Ronaldo while discussing the current situation at Liverpool, following the player’s explosive post-match interview last weekend. Salah was left on the bench during the Leeds United match and subsequently excluded from Liverpool’s squad for their midweek Champions League game against Inter Milan in Italy.
Salah expressed feeling like he’d been ‘thrown under the bus’ and hinted at a strained relationship with Slot. Prior to the announcement that Salah would be included in the Reds’ squad for Saturday’s match against Brighton, Neville shared his thoughts on the matter with Sky Sports.
“I see it from both sides,” began Neville. “I wouldn’t see it from an ordinary player’s side, but when you have this level of player who’s like the best in the world, which I would put Mo Salah up there with – you just sometimes not have to accept what he’s done because Cristiano Ronaldo did it here and I didn’t take to it too kindly at all.
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“I think those players have an expectancy in my opinion to bring everybody along with them. But it is not unusual behaviour for a player of that level of quality and talent.
“They often have that sort of different outlook on things. It’s easy for me when it’s at Liverpool because I can sit back and relax a little bit.”
“I wouldn’t like it if it was at my club Manchester United and I didn’t do a few years ago when Cristiano did the big interview and I thought it was wrong.
“I thought the timing was wrong, I thought the way in which it was delivered was wrong and I can see why Liverpool fans would be upset that he’s gone in there after the game.
“But actually, I was doing the game, I thought he should have come on the pitch, that was my personal opinion.
“I said it in commentary that I thought substitution should be made and that Liverpool needed to go for it and they did score a goal pretty quickly after but I still thought he should have been on the pitch.”
Neville went on: “I can see why he was upset but I can see also from Liverpool’s perspective that they feel let down and they feel like he’s obviously put a lot of attention on them that wasn’t needed in a moment of challenge and difficulty.
“So I see it from both sides. If it was a player that didn’t have the level of talent or experience or success of Mo Salah, I think that they would probably be kicked out pretty quickly.
“But when you’re that exceptional and you’re that talented, and you have the, I’m not going to call it the ego, but the presence of a great player, you don’t accept being put on the bench and not being put on, you just don’t.
“I played with a number of players who were exactly the same, who to be fair, left this club the minute that that was the case for them. So I can see it from both sides.”
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Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £336 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.
