Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has directed his anger at the club’s players after a humiliating Champions League defeat at home to PSV Eindhoven.
Instead of blaming Reds manager Arne Slot, Carragher believes it is currently the team’s players who are letting everyone down, while claiming it appears Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah look basically finished at the top level.
Speaking on CBS Sports in the video clip below, Carragher suggested he couldn’t see Slot getting sacked, while insisting he wanted to see Salah in particular come out to address the fans after the club’s terrible recent form.
Jamie Carragher on Arne Slot, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah
Any words on Slot, VVD, Salah and how long it can last?#LIVPSV #ChampionsLeague
-Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) November 27, 2025
Carragher said he was “angry” with Liverpool’s players and suggested we are starting to see a glimpse of the club’s future now that key figures like Van Dijk and Salah are past their best.
“Liverpool are not a club that sacks,” the former LFC defender said. “Liverpool are different from almost every club in European football – the manager is the king, the manager has time.
“Liverpool have never sacked a manager who won the championship. Never in their history… I couldn’t believe this weekend that people were talking about the job of a manager, when I spoke to the Liverpool fans after the home defeat to Nottingham Forest.
“I’ve always been in the stick-with-the-manager camp, I’m angry at the players if I’m completely honest.
“But I get to a stage with any manager at any club where I always use that word ‘unsustainable’, where I feel like it can’t go on any longer. I’m not there yet personally, in terms of a manager, but I know a lot of supporters will be.
“I had a lot of time to think about it because I knew the game was over well before the final whistle. I think what you see now is Liverpool in 2018 under Jurgen Klopp sort of starting that journey… here we are now, what, seven or eight years later, and the catalyst for that run was Alisson, Van Dijk and Salah.
“Alisson is injured a lot now, he’s not playing much. But you look at Van Dijk now, he’s not the same player, and Mo Salah looks like he’s lost his legs. I don’t like to criticize them, and I think some of the criticism of them this season as players has been harsh.
“You always look for leaders in your team to step up when things aren’t going well. And I’ve criticized Salah off the pitch, I want him to come and do an interview tonight and talk to the Liverpool fans about what the players are going to do, what’s going on in the dressing room, giving the fans hope that things are going to get better.
“But I don’t like to criticize them on the pitch because they are absolute legends for what they did, and their legs have just disappeared. Van Dijk can’t help other players anymore, he needs help himself, and that just means he’s a normal central defender like me, maybe he’s not superhuman at the moment.”
Carragher questions how good some Liverpool players really are
Carragher added that he has had some concerns since last season about the quality of the rest of these players, suggesting that they have been largely buoyed by the excellent form of Van Dijk and Salah in the recent past, but are now failing to step up as those two decline.
“I look at some of the others… step up… can you only play well when they play well? » added Carragher. “Their seasons last season were off the scale and everyone enjoyed that, winning the league, they’re all league champions, they have that on their CV, but when they’re not there, where are they, where are the others?
“That’s why I’m angry at the manager’s comments, but it’s inevitable, something could happen, but in terms of the players and the way they’re playing at the moment, it’s not acceptable for Liverpool Football Club.
“I actually think and maybe I thought about it a bit last season: are any of them good enough if Liverpool want to win the biggest trophies? You saw against Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final, you saw against PSG away last season, dismal performances, and they were carried by some of the greatest players the club has ever had.
“Maybe this is a glimpse into the future of Liverpool when Mo Salah leaves, when Virgil van Dijk leaves and when Alisson leaves.”
How serious do you think Liverpool’s crisis is right now? Should Slot disappear or is it about getting rid of some of these struggling players? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
