Mohamed Salah breaks silence as Florian Wirtz takes Liverpoolâs No.11 shirt
Mohamed Salah has finally spoken out amid controversy after German starlet Florian Wirtz was handed Liverpoolâs iconic No.11 jersey following his record-breaking ÂŁ105 million transfer from Bayer Leverkusen â and the Egyptian forward is far from pleased.
Wirtz, unveiled this week as Liverpoolâs new signing, posed with the No.11 shirt â the number Salah has worn since his arrival in 2017 and turned into a symbol of his legendary Anfield career. Fans were left shocked, and Salah has now publicly responded.
âI wasnât consulted,â Salah posted on his official social media. âIâve given my all for this club year after year. I never expected someone else to wear my number without a discussion first. I respect Wirtz â heâs a fantastic player. But No.11 means more to me than just a number.â
Salahâs comments quickly went viral, earning over 3 million views in less than an hour and stirring a heated debate among supporters over the clubâs handling of the matter.
Reports suggest the decision to give Wirtz No.11 was made by the Liverpool board as a deliberate signal of a âchanging of the guard,â with the 21-year-old German seen as a future star under new manager Arne Slot â while Salah, now 33, enters the final year of his contract.
Yet many fans feel this is disrespectful to a club icon who continues to perform at the highest level. âThis wonât end well,â one fan wrote. âYou donât treat a legend like Salah this way.â
With tensions mounting, the controversy may well mark the beginning of the end for Salahâs storied career at Anfield.