Liverpool star Mohamed Salah delivered a scathing post-match interview after being benched for three games in a row, and his bombshell claims have thrown the club into a fresh nightmare
Liverpool have been thrown into fresh chaos after Mohamed Salah unleashed his frustrations in an extraordinary off-the-cuff interview on Saturday night, ramping up speculation that his time with the club is coming to a bitter end.
The ‘Egyptian King,’ who has faced criticism for rarely speaking to the media, didn’t hold back with his views on the current state of play, admitting he currently has “no relationship” with manager Arne Slot. Speaking after the Premier League champions were held to a 3-3 draw away to Leeds United, he even accused Liverpool of breaking promises and throwing him “under the bus” by using him as a scapegoat for their recent slump in form.
Clearly frustrated after being stuck on the bench for three games in a row, the 33-year-old admitted that he is “hurt” by the current situation and doesn’t feel he has to earn his place in the starting line-up given his long-standing contributions to the club. He spent Sunday speaking to his agent about his future, with the January transfer window suddenly looming large. Salah also made a cryptic remark about “protecting players,’ amidst the whole squad’s deep grief over the sudden death of Diogo Jota.
READ MORE: The REAL reasons why Arne Slot dropped Mohamed Salah as Liverpool crisis deepensREAD MORE: Mo Salah agreement reached as Liverpool star told there is no way back after outburst
And now the crisis has escalated, as Salah has been left out of the squad for the Champions League tie against Inter Milan. The team have flown to Italy today ahead of Tuesday’s game against Inter. Salah trained with his team-mates on Merseyside on Monday, but was then left behind.
“I’m very, very disappointed to be fair. I have done so much for this club, everybody can see that during the years and especially last season,” the Liverpool legend said on Saturday night.
“Sitting on the bench, I don’t know why, it seems like the club has thrown me under the bus. That’s how I feel. I think it’s very clear that someone wants me to get all the blame. The club promised me in the summer for a lot of promises and nothing. So far, I’m on the bench three games.
“So I can’t say that they keep the promise. I said that many times before, I had a good relationship with the manager and all of a sudden we don’t have any relationship. I don’t know why. It seems to me, how I see it, that someone doesn’t want me in the club.
“But again, this club I always support it, my kids will always support it. I love the club so much and I will always do. I called my mum and I told her to come to the Brighton game, it doesn’t matter if I play or not, I’m going to enjoy it.
Decoding Salah’s bombshell interview, body language expert Judi James told The Mirror: “Salah’s projected social signals here suggest a desire to appear accessible and personable as though relating his crisis to close friends rather than the press.
“The clue to this state is his smile, which is an ongoing trait even when it is contradictory or incongruent to his words. It shows an attempt to appear stoic and likeable. When he says ‘I’m very disappointed’ the smile is there in place although it would be analysed as a ‘Misery Smile’, i.e. one that is usually performed in a bid to appear brave in the face of adversity.
“There are also more dramatic non-verbal moments where he gives a glimpse of completely opposite emotions. When he stops smiling here, we can see an emphatic and rather painful-looking poking of his left eye with his fingers, followed by a downward dragging of the skin. This would suggest emotional exhaustion or even a self-attack ritual where someone ‘attacks’ themselves, usually by nail or lip-biting, because they can’t launch an ‘attack’ on the person giving them grief.”
“There is a wry, mirthless laugh when he speaks about being on the bench for three games,” the expert revealed. “And when he talks about his relationship with the manager, his gestures go from a reflective-looking wiping of his beard and downward gaze to a more dramatic: ‘I don’t get it!’ which comes with a sudden rise in his vocal tone as he squeezes his eyes shut and shakes his head in an expression of pain.”
Looking ahead to Liverpool’s next game against Brighton on Saturday, Salah told reporters: “We’ll see what’s going to happen. But in my head I’m going to enjoy that game, if I play or not, if I’m on the bench or not because I don’t know what’s going to happen now. I’m just going to be in Anfield, say goodbye to the fans, go to the Africa Cup (of Nations) because I don’t know what’s going to happen when I’m there.”
“It’s not acceptable to me to be fair. If I was somewhere else, every club would protect its players. Now it’s: ‘Throw Mo under the bus because he is a problem in a team’. I don’t think I am a problem. I am not fighting for my position every day because I have earned it. I am not bigger than the club. I am not bigger than anything. But I have earned it.”
James notes that “there is a hugely exaggerated mouth shrug of dismissal and sadness when Salah says he has ‘done so much for this club’,” explaining: “He pulls the corners of his lips down and closes his eyes here.”
She continued: “His ‘throwing me under the bus’ quote comes with another emphatic wiping of the right side of his face with his hand to hint at some form of exhaustion or frustration here. When saying ‘someone wants me to get all the blame,’ he throws a very sad eye expression straight into the camera.”
And now an agreement behind the scenes appears to have been reached as Liverpool are said to be ‘open-minded’ about the prospect of selling the star player. Salah is under contract until June 2027, after signing a new deal earlier this year worth £350,000 per week. The Liverpool champ, who will soon head off to the Africa Cup of Nations, has long been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia.
His contract extension in April appeared to dampen that speculation but the prospect of a transfer now seems to have reopened. Al-Hilal – previously reported to have considered a £150million bid for the forward – are believed to be among the favourites for his signature. Comments from former Al-Hilal manager Jorge Jesus suggest they would welcome him with open arms. “I would like to have Salah at Al-Hilal, he has a way of playing that fits the team,” Jesus said in February this year.
Meanwhile, Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk told his team-mates that no one deserves special treatment just days before Mo Salah argued that he shouldn’t need to fight for his place on the squad. When asked if Salah’s absence from the starting line-up for Wednesday’s 1-1 draw at home to Sunderland should serve as a message to the Reds’ dressing room, Van Dijk responded: “That’s always been the case. It’s not like you have unlimited credit, everyone has to perform.
“Mo has been doing that but the manager made that decision in the last two games. We all want the best for the club. I am pretty sure Mo will still be a big part of what we are trying to achieve because he is an amazing player and he has shown it consistently.
“But we are all trying to find consistency and he needs us to be in our best shape and we need him and that’s what we are all trying to find. He is still a fantastic player and we still have to remember there is a reason why he has been so successful at the club and we have to respect that.
Source: Mirror
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