Before groundbreaking game
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On Tuesday, when his Liverpool colleagues were in Milan for the Champions League game, Mohamed Salah posted a photo of himself in the Reds’ weight room on Instagram. The team’s exiled superstar was not allowed to travel to Italy, which ultimately made the Egyptian the main topic for the struggling champions. Coach Arne Slot took a stand before the next game (Saturday, 4 p.m., against Brighton) and seemed to want to find a conciliatory tone.
Coach Slot announced during a press conference on Friday that he would speak to Salah today. A reporter’s question was aimed at the upcoming game; whether Salah would be there, and if not, whether that would mean that the attacker could never play for LFC again. Slot emphasized that Salah’s deployment on Saturday depends on the conversation. “If I talk about Mo in the near future, it should be with him and not here,” the coach initially said, refusing to deepen the topic. He later wrestled with what he called “a little bit of an answer” and said of the player’s possible departure: “I have no reasons for not wanting him to stay.”
After the Sunderland game on December 3rd, there were many discussions between Salah’s representatives and the club, including between Slot and Salah directly. In the last Premier League game against Leeds United on December 6th, Salah remained on the bench for the entire game for the second time this season. The situation escalated.
“Someone wants me to take all the blame. The club promised me a lot in the summer. Now I’m sitting on the bench, so I can say that they didn’t keep that promise,” said the 33-year-old Egyptian on “Viaplay”. He had a good relationship with the coach, but not anymore, from which Salah concluded: “Apparently someone doesn’t want me at the club anymore.” When asked on Friday, Slot did not comment on whether an apology from Salah could improve the situation for him.
Salah had meaningfully announced for the next home game on Saturday: “I called my parents and told them to come to the game against Brighton. It doesn’t matter whether I play or not. I’ll enjoy it. I’ll just be at Anfield and say goodbye to the fans before the Africa Cup of Nations because I don’t know what will happen then.” On December 22nd, the Egyptian national team has its first game against Zimbabwe at the tournament in Morocco. Salah travels to the team a week in advance. It can be ruled out that the club will say goodbye to Salah of any kind in Liverpool on Saturday. If Salah, for his part, does his farewell laps in the stadium, this will likely be detrimental to Liverpool’s transfer potential for the player, who is still bound until 2027.