'You're a disgrace - no wonder Ronaldo ignored you and Mourinho said you were below average': Mohamed Salah's friend unloads on Jamie Carragher

A close friend and former team-mate of Mohamed Salah 's has been the latest to speak out in support of the Liverpool star following his bombshell claim that Liverpool have 'thrown him under the bus'.

The Egyptian did not hold back when sharing his view in the wake of Liverpool's 3-3 draw with Leeds - the third successive game in which Salah was named on the bench - and threw down the gauntlet to club legend Jamie Carragher , who has been a vocal critic of Salah's conduct away from the pitch this season.

Carragher responded with a fire-and-brimstone, eight-minute dissection of Salah's decision to share his concerns publicly and suggested that Salah focuses on being a team player and rediscovering his best form.

Carragher also cited Salah's struggles at Chelsea and failure to win major honours with Egypt as examples of the game being about more than just the individual, a view that agitated Salah's supporters in the game.

Former Aston Villa and Hull City star Ahmed Elmohamady, who played alongside Salah for their national team for close to eight years, was particularly incensed, labelling Carragher a 'disgrace' for suggesting that the star had not done enough for his country.

'Right Jamie you’re a disgrace,' Elmohamady began in his social media post on X. 'Salah completely rewrote his story through hard work, humility, and world-class performances.

Ahmed Elmohamady has spoken out on behalf of his friend and team-mate Mohamed Salah

The Egyptian star was the subject of an incendiary eight-minute critique from Jamie Carragher

'He didn’t “fail” at Chelsea - he was never given the chance.

'He went to Italy, rebuilt himself, then came to Liverpool and became: A Premier League legend, Egypt’s greatest ever player, one of the most consistent forwards of his generation.

'Salah has carried Egypt for years, and getting Egypt qualified for World Cup twice after so long, Salah earned everything.'

Citing Carragher's gaffes as a pundit, Elmohamady added: 'No wonder you got blanked by C.Ronaldo . No wonder Messi called you out .

'No wonder Mourinho said you were below average and not even in top 1,000 defenders in Premier League.'

Amid growing support for Salah in the wake of Carragher's speech, the former Reds defender apologised to the player on punditry duty for CBS Sports on Wednesday night.

'Mo, I apologise I've upset you,' Carragher began. 'I love you as the Liverpool player, but you just need to behave yourself off the pitch.'

His brief apology note struck a different tone to his position just days earlier, when Carragher himself labelled Salah a 'disgrace' and accused the forward of taking the decision to speak to the press to 'strengthen his own position' at the club.

The pundit's rant was prompted by Salah's decision to speak to the media on Saturday

'He's chosen this weekend to do this now and he's waited for a bad result, they've conceded a last minute goal,' he said.

'The Liverpool supporters, the manager, the whole club feels like it is in the gutter at the moment, and he's chosen that time to go for the manager and maybe try and get him sacked.'

On Arne Slot, Carragher continued, adding: 'With the manager right now, Salah should be doing as much as he can now to try and help the club get out of the worst run of results they've had since the 1950s, and he hasn't done that.'

The pundit also responded directly to Salah's call-out, stating: 'Have I ever criticised Salah on the pitch? I've never criticised him for not working back, when he's gone games without a goal and I've never criticised him when he should have passed to someone.

'That's because he's an absolute legend of the Liverpool and what you get from him, you have to put up with certain bits. I think some of the criticism of Salah this season has been excessive.

'But I will go after Salah when he tries to throw my club under the bus off the pitch and when he's just thinking about himself.'

In his incendiary statement in the wake of drawing with Leeds, Salah also implied that he believes 'someone' in the Liverpool set-up is agitating for his departure.

'I could not believe I was sitting on the bench for 90 minutes,' he said. 'That's the third time. It's the first time in my career I think.

The 32-year-old said in his bombshell statement that he believed he is being 'thrown under the bus' by his club

'(I am) very disappointed, I have done so much for this club over the years, especially last season. It seems like the club has thrown me under the bus. That's how I feel.

'Someone wants me to get all the blame. The club promised me a lot in summer. Now I'm on bench so I can say they haven't kept those promises.

'I used to have a good relationship (with Slot). Now we don't have any relationship and I don't know why.

'It seems like someone does not want me in the club.'

Salah was left to train alone when the Reds travelled to Milan to face off with Inter in Champions League action on Tuesday evening following his outburst. The Golden Boot winner later took to social media to share pictures of himself in an empty gym at Liverpool's training ground.

In the aftermath of the win in Europe however, Slot appeared to hint at the possibility of peace talks between the two parties.

'You say everyone makes mistakes in life, so the first thing should be: does the player think he's made a mistake as well?' Slot asked fellow Dutchman Clarence Seedorf amid questioning at full-time.

'And then the next question is, should the initiative come from me or him? That's another question to answer.'

Slot demurred over who he thought should make the first step, remaining opaque, but club captain Virgil van Dijk was more forthright, confirming that he plans to speak to his friend and team-mate.

'I have to, I'm going to talk to him,' Van Dijk said on Tuesday evening. 'But then you have to ask should the initiative come from me? I'm not the one to speak if someone has to apologise.

'It's him airing his feelings for the past couple of days. That's something the club has to deal with, obviously, me as well.

'The reality also is that Mo is going to Africa soon. I've known him for such a long time, we are good friends and have been through highs and lows.

'We speak and those types of things will stay indoors as it should be. We have to brace ourselves and be against the outside noise.'