Salah's post, published the day after Liverpool's 4-2 defeat to Aston Villa — their 12th league loss of a deeply disappointing season — read: "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."
The message was widely read as a second public dig at Slot, following Salah's claim in December that he had been "thrown under the bus" by the manager after losing his starting place for three consecutive matches.
More than a dozen Liverpool players liked the post on Instagram, including Wirtz, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ibrahima Konaté, Andy Robertson, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez. The collective reaction was interpreted by much of the media as a dressing room in open revolt.
Speaking to The Athletic, Wirtz rejected that reading entirely.
"Mo has known the club for a long time now. He's just an honest guy. He says what he thinks. This should be OK. If you want to speak, you should be able to speak."
He was equally dismissive of the idea that the post was an attack on the manager.
"Of course, it was a bit of a difficult season for all of us, including Mo. In my opinion, it got made bigger than it was. I don't think he attacked anyone. With the 'likes' players gave, I think it was made too big. For me, it was just a thing that he wanted to say because he's leaving. He wanted to make everyone in the club alert that we have to work more and do better."
On the broader narrative of a squad against its manager: "The outside world is always trying to create something between the team and the manager. But it's totally different in this building. We are working well every day with this manager and his staff. There is no thought about not being behind the manager. This is just something talked about on the outside."
Liverpool face Brentford at Anfield on Sunday needing a win to secure Champions League qualification. Wirtz is expected to start.
Salah plays his last game for the club. The question of what comes next — for him, for Slot, for Liverpool — will dominate the summer.