Mohamed Salah will receive his big Liverpool farewell today, with manager Arne Slot allowing him to start despite the departing 'Egyptian King' dropping a 'grenade' on the dressing room with his remarks last week.
Salah starts for Liverpool against Brentford at Anfield, seven days after he called for the club to return to Jurgen Klopp's 'heavy metal football' in a dig at Slot on social media. That post was liked by a number of Reds team-mates and Wayne Rooney led calls for Salah to be banned from his final game as a result.
But Slot, who is under pressure from Liverpool fans after a difficult second season, appears to have taken the high road by selecting Salah and granting him an emotional farewell today.
This week Slot had tried to play down the row - insisting both men 'want what's best for Liverpool'. Salah now starts on the final day of the season where Liverpool can move up to fourth place if they win and Aston Villa are beaten by Manchester City.
Salah, 33, had said: 'Us crumbling to yet another defeat this season was very painful and not what our fans deserve. I want to see Liverpool go back to being the heavy metal attacking team that opponents fear and back to being a team that wins trophies.'
That reaction to Liverpool's 4-2 defeat at Villa drew anger from former Everton and Manchester United striker Rooney.
'I find it sad at the end of what he's done and what he's achieved at Liverpool,' he said on the Wayne Rooney Show. 'It's not the point for him to come out and aim another dig at Slot.'
'He wants to play heavy metal football, so he's basically saying he wants Jurgen Klopp football. Now I don't think Mo Salah can cope with that type of football anymore. I think his legs have gone to play at that high tempo and high intensity.'
'If I was Arne Slot, I'd have him nowhere near the stadium in the last game. I had it with Alex Ferguson. I had a disagreement and fall out and at Alex Ferguson's last game at Old Trafford, he left me out of the squad for that reason.'
'He's almost just dropped the grenade and said he doesn't trust and believe in Arne Slot and almost thrown his team-mates who are going to be there next season and let them have to deal with that as well and put them into an (awkward) position.'
Andy Robertson, 32, also starts for Liverpool for his own Anfield farewell today. Goalkeeper Alisson Becker, linked with a move to Italy this summer, is also in Slot's XI.
Liverpool XI: Alisson; Jones, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Mac Allister, Gravenberch, Szoboszlai; Salah, Gakpo, Ngumoha.
