Mohamed Salah fired an extraordinary broadside at Liverpool and head coach Arne Slot following Saturday's 3-3 draw at Leeds United, accusing the club of "throwing me under the bus".
Liverpool's Premier League title defence took another hit at Elland Road after an equaliser by substitute Ai Tanaka in injury time denied Slot's side three points on the road.
Egyptian forward Salah was benched for a third consecutive match and unused in the pulsating draw at Leeds, a result that leaves the Reds eighth in the table and 10 points off leaders Arsenal.
The 33-year-old delivered a blistering assessment of his deteriorating relationship with Slot and the club hierarchy in a mixed-zone appearance that stunned those present. For a player whose standing at Anfield borders on mythic, it felt like the first footsteps toward the exit.
“I’m very, very disappointed,” Salah said. “I have done so much for this club down the years and especially last season. Now I’m sitting on the bench and I don’t know why. It seems like the club has thrown me under the bus.”
Salah, who departs for the Africa Cup of Nations after next weekend’s home match against Brighton, suggested that fixture may serve as an informal farewell. “In my head, I’m going to enjoy that game because I don’t know what is going to happen now. I will be at Anfield to say goodbye to the fans,” he said.
Salah’s frustration centres on what he described as broken promises and a sudden collapse in communication with Slot. “I said many times before that I had a good relationship with the manager and all of a sudden we don’t have any relationship,” he said. “It seems to me someone doesn’t want me in the club.”
Though he did not say it, Salah's grievance could stem from the fact that he is by no means the only underperforming player in Slot's squad. Captain Virgil van Dijk has looked a shadow of the imperious defender who led the club to the title last season, while new signings Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz – the two most expensive signings in British football – have so far failed to deliver, yet all have remained in the team.
The timing of Salah's outburst could hardly be more destabilising. Liverpool have won just two of their past 10 league games, sliding to eighth after a winter run that has stripped away confidence. Salah, the club’s third-highest scorer in history with 250 goals in 420 appearances, has looked a diminished force with only five goals in 19 outings, yet has remained a mainstay until last week’s 2-0 win at West Ham.
Slot defended his decision to omit his star forward again at Elland Road. “It was about controlling the game at 3-2 and we didn’t need a goal,” he said. “Normally, when you need a goal, like last week, I brought Mo on.”
That reasoning is unlikely to placate a player long courted by Saudi Pro League clubs and now, perhaps for the first time, nursing the real possibility of a January move.
Salah was instrumental in the club securing a 20th English title last season, and was persuaded to sign a new two-year deal to keep him at Anfield. However, the fallout from his eruption may prove far more damaging than two dropped points in Yorkshire for Liverpool.
