Mohamed Salah’s former team-mate blasts ‘disgusting’ criticism of Egyptian superstar - with Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher slammed for comments he would never say face-to-face

Lovren has moved to defend his close friend Salah, following a season where the forward’s form and future dominated the back pages. Despite Salah’s legendary status at Anfield, a dip in output following a stellar 2024-25 campaign led to a wave of negativity that Lovren believes crossed the line into personal attacks.

In a candid interview with WinWin, Lovren expressed his disbelief at the narrative surrounding the departing winger. "The way they treated him this season is not harsh," he said. "It's disgusting. Why didn't they talk about him like this for the past eight or nine years? Tell me... OK, one season, and then he's the target again. There are so many other issues."

The Croatian defender did not hold back when addressing the comments made by Liverpool legend Carragher, who had previously accused Salah of selfishness. Lovren suggested that Carragher’s criticisms were more about television ratings than genuine tactical analysis, and challenged the former centre-back to be more direct with the players he critiques.

Lovren added: "He's being really heavily criticised. Some pundits do it just to attract attention, maybe because they haven't succeeded in other areas of their lives, so now they need to perform well... especially Carragher, he says whatever he wants. I always said he should tell him this to his face, say all these things to Mo to his face. He'll never say that. Because I know he never will, because he never said it to me. He's talked badly about me too, but he never said that to me anyway. You know, he's just performing on TV and he gets paid for it, so he needs to perform this way."

Beyond the media storm, Lovren pointed the finger directly at former manager Arne Slot for Salah’s decision to leave Merseyside. Following a public spat and a breakdown in communication, Lovren believes the managerial environment became untenable for the club’s record Premier League goalscorer, contrasting the situation with the trust built under Jurgen Klopp.

"I don't think it's the management (that pushed Salah to leave)," the current PAOK man said. "I think it's just one person, and I think it's just the manager. They didn't have a good relationship. Let's put it simply. With Klopp, he had a really good relationship. It wasn't always perfect, but they knew each other very well, let's say that too, and they trusted each other, they liked each other, and Mo gave everything on the pitch for Klopp, and Klopp gave him that trust. But (with Slot) it was the opposite. It's that simple, and everyone knows it because when you look at the previous eight or nine seasons, he did really well."

Lovren concluded by highlighting what he perceives as a failure from the club’s leadership to shield their star man from the external noise. He echoed Salah’s own sentiments regarding a lack of protection, suggesting that the Egyptian was left to face the music alone while other members of the squad avoided accountability for a difficult season.

"There are other players who should also take responsibility and say, 'yes, this is my fault', but you know, some players never came forward," Lovren added. "There was mismanagement; internally, they didn't handle it well. They didn't handle it well. Even if you have some problems, you have to talk about it in the dressing room, and like I said, Mo never felt that support. He was always the front-page headline, 'Ah, it's Mohamed Salah, don't be surprised.' I mean... it's a deep-seated issue."