After Liverpool’s 3-3 draw with Leeds United, Mohamed Salah made shocking remarks in the mixed zone.
Two days after one of Liverpool’s top players gave one of the most explosive interviews in Premier League history, shock has engulfed the entire club.
Rewind to April: Salah celebrated winning the Premier League title at Anfield and praised Slot for helping him reach such heights. Two months ago, his agent, Ramy Abbas, even posted on social media that Slot was “doing an excellent job.”
"I told him, ‘As long as you let me rest defensively, I will contribute in attack,’" Salah said in an April interview with Sky Sports. “He listens to a lot of advice, and the stats are the best proof.”
Salah not only claimed the Premier League Golden Boot with 29 league goals but also won the Playmaker of the Season award with 18 league assists. He broke the record for goal involvements in a 38-game Premier League season and was named both the Football Writers’ Association (FWA) Footballer of the Year and Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) Players’ Player of the Year.
Like everyone associated with Liverpool, Salah’s situation has become extraordinarily difficult this season. The tragic passing of Diogo Jota hit Salah particularly hard, and Liverpool’s bold £450 million summer overhaul has also reshaped the team’s internal dynamics.
In September, a fan posted on X boasting about the team replacing Luis Díaz and Darwin Núñez with Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak. Salah promptly replied: “Shouldn’t we respect the Premier League champions while celebrating these great signings?”
This reply offered a glimpse into his mindset.
Salah believes the team’s tactical system last season was tailor-made around him, and he loved playing alongside Díaz, Núñez, and Trent Alexander-Arnold—all of whom have since left the club.
Since the arrivals of Wirtz, Isak, and Hugo Ekitike, Liverpool’s tactical style has changed, and Salah has found it increasingly hard to get scoring opportunities. He has scored just 4 Premier League goals so far this season.
To those who know Salah well, his struggles are obvious. On Friday, before Salah’s explosive remarks, Egypt national team coach Hossam Hassan told Camel Live during the World Cup draw that he had been in close contact with the forward amid Salah’s poor form.
“Mo (Salah) is a great player with a strong mentality. He has faced problems before and made moves. But if he comes with me, we can move forward together and forget any issues he’s having at his club. He’s the best player in the world in his position.”
Despite Salah’s inconsistent form, there seemed to be no rift between him and manager Slot, as he started all of Liverpool’s first 12 league games this season.
That changed eight days ago when he was left out of the starting lineup against West Ham United. He was not recalled for the midweek home game against Sunderland, which further dampened his mood. But what truly pushed him over the edge was being on the bench for the entire duration of Saturday’s away game against Leeds United.
If Liverpool had held on to their 3-2 lead at Elland Road, it’s hard to imagine he would have used such fierce criticism to overshadow a morale-boosting victory. But after dropping two more points, his emotions ran high, and he decided to speak out.
Liverpool’s hierarchy is well aware that the more games Salah is left out of, the greater the chance he will speak up. His pride and mentality have made him a top player, and he will never stay silent about what he perceives as injustice.
However, there is a widespread view within Liverpool that this is merely Slot’s squad selection based on what’s best for the team amid poor results—no one is trying to force Salah to the bench. They see his absence as a temporary expedient, not a sign that he has been demoted to a substitute role.
Slot is striving to make Liverpool’s formation more compact and harder to break down, so he decided to replace Salah at right wing with Dominik Szoboszlai, who has stronger off-the-ball movement.
There is a general belief within the club that the team’s record of one win and two draws in the last three games proves the effectiveness of this adjustment, with Liverpool giving opponents very few scoring chances.
The Dutch manager also needs to develop a plan to ensure Liverpool operates smoothly during Salah’s absence at the Africa Cup of Nations. He believes it is sensible to test this plan before the 33-year-old departs for Morocco to join Egypt’s squad for the tournament, which kicks off on December 21.
If Salah is trying to put pressure on Slot to jeopardize his job—a view held by several people Camel Live spoke to about the matter, with one even calling it a "deliberate" attack—he is destined to be disappointed. Slot still has the support of Fenway
Sports Group (FSG), and sacking a manager simply because a player questioned squad selection is unthinkable, no matter how iconic the omitted player is.
Salah is highly respected and admired in Liverpool’s dressing room, but he does not have many close friends within the team. After learning on Friday that he would not start against Leeds, his teammates immediately noticed a change in his mood.
Given his past words and deeds, they knew he would publicly voice his dissatisfaction sooner or later—so when they saw his remarks late on Saturday, they were not surprised.
What impact will his outburst have on the team?
"To be honest, not much," said the agent of a senior Liverpool player. "Considering everything he has done for the club, I don’t think anyone can say anything to Mo."
