Mohamed Salah: Arne Slot says Liverpool forward surprised him by saying their relationship had broken down - but didn't rule out a return for Egyptian
Arne Slot says Mohamed Salah surprised him with how he described their relationship - but didn't close the door on a return; Salah told journalists "someone doesn't want me in the club" after being left on the bench for the third game straight against Leeds
Monday 8 December 2025 20:43, UK
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot says he was "surprised" by Mohamed Salah saying their relationship had broken down - and has cast doubt on whether the forward will play again for the club.
Slot says the only communication he has had with Salah since Saturday's bombshell interview was to tell the player he would not be travelling to Italy for Tuesday's Champions League game with Inter.
Asked how that conversation was, he said: "A short one."
Slot has benched Salah for Liverpool's past three games but says he didn't believe his relationship with the Egyptian had broken down and hadn't seen indications of that until Salah's interview. "It was a surprise to me when I heard he gave the comments he gave," said Slot, in a press conference on Monday.
Slot was asked whether Salah could come back into contention for Saturday's Premier League game with Brighton at Anfield and the Dutchman says that is a decision which would be taken after the game with Inter on Tuesday night.
"I'm a firm believer there's always a possibility to return for a player," said Slot.
However, when he was pressed on whether Salah had played his final game for Liverpool, Slot said: "I have no clue, I cannot answer that question in this moment in time."
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Slot also pointed out he was uncertain what or who Salah was referring to with some of his comments. But added: "I'm calm, polite - but that doesn't mean I'm weak. It's up to us as a club to react and you can see he isn't here."
In full: Everything Slot said about Salah and his Liverpool future
Was Salah referring to Slot with his 'thrown under the bus' comment?
Slot: "The only one who can answer that is Mo himself. I can guess but that is not the right thing to do at this moment. It is hard for me to tell."
Has Slot spoken to Salah?
Slot: "We let him know that he is not travelling. That was the only communication from us to him.
"Before Saturday, the two of us have spoken a lot. Sometimes longer and sometimes shorter."
Has their relationship broken down?
Slot: "It is not the way I feel but he has the right to feel how he feels things. I have not felt that at all until Saturday evening.
"When I don't play him anymore, usually players don't like the manager then that much but he was very respectful to my staff members and his team-mates. He trained really hard. To an extent, it was a surprise to me when I heard that he gave the comments he gave.
"It is not the first and not the last time when a player doesn't play that he says something similar to what he did. My reaction to that is clear, that is that he is not here."
Will he be considered for selection vs Brighton?
Slot: "We are sitting here on an evening before a big game and there was only 36 hours between the moment we conceded 3-3 to Leeds and now.
"I have tried to prepare my team in the best possible way for the game [on Tuesday] evening. The most thoughts I have had are about [Tuesday]. After [Tuesday], we will look at the situation again."
Is there any way back for Salah?
Slot: "I am a firm believer that there is always a possibility to return for a player. I can leave it with that."
How was the conversation you had with him?
Slot: "A short one."
Why has Salah been on the bench?
Slot: "We as a team struggled this season and already last season with the game plans other teams had against us. I am not only talking about the long-ball style. I have tried to come up with solutions, that is my job. We have tried many things.
"We looked very vulnerable against [Nottingham] Forest and PSV. I decided to play with an extra midfielder in the game against West Ham, when we won the game, so I did it once more against Sunderland. At half-time, I brought him in.
"Against Leeds we faced a 5-3-2, where I've decided to play a 4-4-2 diamond, with Hugo Ekitike a bit off the right side, Cody Gakpo off the left, with Florian Wirtz in between. I could have played Mo off the right instead of Hugo, but I decided to play Hugo."
Has he played his last game for Liverpool?
Slot: "I have no clue. I cannot answer that question in this moment of time."
Has your authority been undermined? Do you feel let down?
Slot: "I don't feel my authority is undermined. It is not the way I feel it.
"It is not about me, if my life is difficult, yes or no. It is not very important in a situation like this. It is if it is more difficult for the team or club.
"No one likes us to be in the situation we're in at the moment. It is difficult to see that staff members that work so hard on a daily basis are affected by the situation. Mainly because of the results but also what this has done. That's not a good thing for us as a team. That's mostly where my thoughts go to.
"The focus I have is completely on the team and not me at all."
When Mo said he felt he was thrown under the bus, do you understand why he would say such things?
Slot: "Then I should know what he exactly means and that is difficult for me to know what he exactly means and why he says this and who he is referring to."
You've not had that conversation?
Slot: "No. Usually, I am calm and polite but that does not mean I am weak. If a player has these comments about so many things, it is about us as a club to react and we reacted in a way, you can see, he is not here."
Could you have done anything differently to avoid this?
Slot: "Then I would have to find out why he said what he said. I have to guess a little bit. Is it not only because he doesn't play? Is it about me not playing him? What could I do differently? Playing him. Maybe that is not the reason he thinks and feels this way.
"He has every right to feel what he feels but he doesn't have the right to share it with the media. He has that right but then it is up to us to react on it."
When did you last speak to Salah? Were you on speaking terms?
Slot: "Yes we were but it doesn't mean we were always agreeing on things. I spoke to him twice in the week before, two days before Leeds."
Have you spoken to him since Leeds?
Slot: "No, I've already said that a few times before. He was on the training ground [on Monday] and I told him he would not travel. That is not speaking with someone; it is, but not having a conversation in your room. I had that twice in the lead up to Leeds one a bit longer, one a bit shorter. But I will not go into details.
"I communicated to him he wasn't travelling."
Carra's verdict: Outburst 'a disgrace'
Jamie Carragher labelled Salah "a disgrace" for his bombshell interview - but hopes he has not played his final game for Liverpool.
Speaking on Monday Night Football, Carragher said: "I thought it was a disgrace what he did after the game.
"Some people have painted it as an emotional outburst, I don't think it was.
"Whenever Mo Salah stops in a mixed zone, which he's done four times in eight years at Liverpool, it's choreographed with him and his agent to cause maximum damage and strengthen his own position."
On Salah's future, Carragher added: "Whether he will play for Liverpool again, I don't know. I hope he does, because he is one of the greatest players we've ever had. But if you continue like that and make statements like that if he doesn't play, who knows?"
Ronaldo-esque power play pits Salah against Slot
Analysis from Sky Sports' Zinny Boswell:
"Mohamed Salah has given Liverpool a decision to make after revealing he no longer has a relationship with Arne Slot. It is difficult to see a path forward for both star player and head coach now. Whatever happens next, it will be seismic for Liverpool.
"Salah chose to speak out, in a season when he has been largely silent, to deliver a message about his own future at a moment of weakness for Slot, who failed to take the seven points Jamie Carragher said he needed to save his job against West Ham, Sunderland and Leeds.
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"Significantly, Slot was the only colleague Salah mentioned by name. Intentional or not, he has made it 'me vs him'. Although, Salah might argue Slot did that himself by forcing him to watch from the bench as Liverpool twice blew a lead at Elland Road.
"One inarguable takeaway from Salah's bombshell interview is that he just wants to play football again, whether that can happen at Liverpool is unclear. Next Saturday's game against Brighton, his last before going to AFCON, could feasibly be his Anfield farewell.
"After this, it's hard to see a world in which he plays this week."
