Jamie Carragher blasts Liverpool's 'disconnected' online fans over Mohamed Salah saga as 'those who dedicate life to supporting team' back Arne Slot instead

Salah is a modern day legend on Merseyside, with the Egyptian superstar registering 250 goals for the Reds. Over the course of eight memorable years, he has captured two top-flight crowns, savoured a Champions League triumph, won four Golden Boots and three PFA Player of the Year awards.

The talismanic 33-year-old has, however, accused his current employers of throwing him under the bus in a disappointing title defence. He has also admitted to seeing his working relationship with head coach Arne Slot break down.

Slot took to dropping Salah from his squad for a Champions League clash with Inter, with many supporting that stance as the Dutch tactician sought to ensure that his authority at Anfield is not undermined. Fans at San Siro backed their manager with chants from the terraces.

Carragher saw that as no surprise, with the former Liverpool defender saying in his column for The Telegraph: "In a choice between a title-winning Anfield manager and a multi-title-winning footballer, the coach wins every time. The relationship between a successful Liverpool boss and the Kop is, through my eyes at least, unique. The fans have a banner that displays the faces of all the most revered managers in the club’s history. Slot’s face was added this year. What other fanbase would back a manager who has only been at the club 18 months over a superstar who has delivered every honour in the game for eight years?"

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Not everybody is on Slot’s side in his row with Salah - who has reacted angrily to being benched of late - but Carragher believes that true fans know where their allegiance lies. He added: "There will be those reading this column, or more specifically commenting on it online, who will vehemently argue against my submission that the die-hard supporters are overwhelmingly behind Slot on this issue. Like many clubs’ fanbases, Liverpool’s is divided between those who dedicate their life to supporting the team – the familiar faces you see and hear even as players at home and away – and those who spend their time on social media and are disconnected from the mood in and around the city and the stadium itself.

"After I spoke on the Salah situation on Monday Night Football, I was alerted to those who disagreed with my take. I couldn’t care less, because I intuitively know I am on the same page as those supporters who were at San Siro on Tuesday night. I am in touch with enough of them to be able to measure if my mood reflects theirs. The day I no longer believe that to be true is the day I stop commenting on Liverpool.

"There is a newer generation of supporters who follow players more than a club. If Salah had left two years ago or last summer, they would have taken their allegiance with him. I would go so far as to say that there are some who would have happily seen Liverpool lose to increase the prospects of Salah staying and Slot leaving.

"This issue was never going to be just about Slot versus Salah, or even Salah versus Liverpool’s executives. To those who understand Liverpool, it is about their perception of what the club stands for and how those representing it should behave. They see the manager as the embodiment of their values. Once that connection is established – and Slot secured his in his first year – the bond is reinforced when someone threatens it. For all the poor recent performances, questionable tactics and contentious substitutions, for those supporters who are the true lifeblood of the club, Slot always had an ace up his sleeve; he is a Premier League-winning manager."

The big question now is: Does Salah have a future at Liverpool? On that subject, Carragher said: "There might be no way back for Salah now he is heading to the Africa Cup of Nations, but I genuinely hope there is. Even though I have been furious about what he said last weekend, it would be an absolute travesty if that interview is remembered as his last meaningful act for Liverpool. He has done too much for the club for that to be so. He owes it to himself to make sure he is afforded a farewell fit for a legend – whenever that might be. If that means he has to apologise, so be it.

"As things stand, it would be no surprise if Liverpool sold Salah to fund another spree in January because the lack of resources on the substitutes bench in midweek was extraordinary given how much was spent last summer. That was a key takeaway from another dramatic Anfield week. Slot’s squad is weaker than it should be."

Salah, who signed a two-year contract extension in April, is already being linked with teams in the Saudi Pro League. Slot has confirmed that internal talks will be held ahead of a Premier League clash with Brighton at Anfield on Saturday - a contest which may become a farewell event for one of the Reds’ brightest stars.