EPL: Age has caught up with Salah – Rooney

Former Manchester United forward, Wayne Rooney, says the hardest moment in footballers’ career is accepting when they are no longer the players they once were, drawing from his own experience at the top level.

Rooney who spent 13 years at the club after a £27m move from Everton in 2004, enjoyed a glittering career at Old Trafford. Rooney made 559 appearances, scored 253 goals, and won five Premier League titles, as well as the Champions League, Europa League and FA Cup.

However, in 2017, at the age of 31, he chose to leave United and return to Everton after falling down the pecking order.

As reported by BBC Sport on Friday, Rooney was quoted as saying that the hardest thing for a player is to understand that they may not be at the level they were. Rooney made this statement on The Wayne Rooney Show.

“I did it at Manchester United when Zlatan Ibrahimović came in and I wasn’t playing. I wanted to play so I left straight away. I accepted it,” he said.

Rooney compared that situation to that of Mohamed Salah, who is set to leave Liverpool FC at the end of the season after nine years at Anfield.

Salah has been central to Liverpool’s success, winning multiple major honours including the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Club World Cup. However, this season has seen a noticeable dip by his own high standards.

The 33-year-old is expected to play fewer than 30 league matches for the first time since arriving at Liverpool and is on course to miss out on double figures for league goals, with seven so far alongside six assists.

“I said this since the start of the season, age gets to us all and your legs go.

“I think that’s happened to Salah this season and Virgil van Dijk hasn’t been the same this season,” he added.

He also pointed to the wider impact on the team when senior figures dip in form.

“They are the leaders in the dressing room. It’s hard for the other players to go and leave their mark or become the leaders,” he added.

While Rooney suggested some players stay too long at clubs, he stopped short of saying Van Dijk should move on.

“I don’t think he will [leave] but you’ve seen players when they’ve stayed there for too long,” he said.

Both Salah and Van Dijk reached their peak under former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp, who led the club to Champions League glory in 2019 and their first league title in 30 years in 2020 before stepping down in 2024.

Rooney admitted he admired Klopp’s personality and influence.

“Klopp was the only Liverpool manager I’ve looked at and would’ve loved to play for him, not for Liverpool, obviously, he said.

He also compared Klopp to current manager Arne Slot, suggesting the latter lacks the same presence.

“I said about Arne Slot that he doesn’t have the aura that Klopp has, Rooney added.

“What Klopp brought, even when he’s walking around a restaurant with a bottle of beer, that’s what the people of Liverpool like.”