BY OSABUOHIEN VIVIAN-ROSE
Mohamed Salah has been omitted from Liverpool’s squad for their Champions League clash with Inter Milan.
Liverpool have temporarily removed him from selection following an explosive interview in which he took aim at the club and head coach Arne Slot, according to ESPN.
It is unclear whether the 33-year-old will be considered for selection for Liverpool’s Premier League game against Brighton – fixture that would be his last game for the club before departing for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Speaking to reporters at Elland Road on Saturday, Salah lashed out his frustrations at having been left on the bench for the duration of Liverpool’s 3-3 draw with Leeds United.
Salah — who has just four goals in 13 Premier League appearances this season — trained with the first team at the AXA Training Centre on Monday morning however the club have made the decision to leave him out of the travelling party for Tuesday night’s match at the San Siro.
According to ESPN’s sources, the decision was taken in consultation with and with Slot’s full support.
Given the nature and timing of the player’s public comments, there is a belief that a period away from the squad is in the best interests of all parties, though Salah will not face disciplinary action.
Liverpool have won just four of their last 15 games in all competitions, but sources told ESPN that Slot maintains the full backing of the club’s hierarchy, even in spite of Salah’s outburst.
Liverpool are currently 13th in the Champions League table and need a result in Milan to boost their chances of qualifying in the top eight for the knockout stages.
With Liverpool already in crisis after suffering nine defeats from their past 15 games in all competitions, star forward Mohamed Salah fanned the flames by taking aim at the club for “throwing him under the bus.”
Salah started the first 12 Premier League games but, after netting just four goals and two assists, he was dropped to the bench for the third consecutive game against Leeds United on Saturday night and made a beeline for reporters in the mixed zone following his team’s 3-3 draw at Elland Road.
“Someone wants me to get all the blame,” he said. “[The] club promised me a lot in summer. Now I’m on bench so can say they haven’t kept those promises. I used to have a good relationship [with Arne Slot]. Now we don’t have any relationship and I don’t know why. [It] seems like someone does not want me in the club.”
It was an extraordinary outburst from a player who has spoken to the written media only four times in his 8½ years on Merseyside. That Salah chose to speak out so candidly suggests he feels his Liverpool future is balanced on a cliff edge. So where does he go from here? And, now he’s been omitted from the squad for the foreseeable future, could his stellar Anfield career soon be drawing to a close?
Just few months ago that Salah was beaming as he collected the award for PFA Players’ Player of the Year after scoring 29 goals in Liverpool’s Premier League title-winning campaign last season. That the Egypt international is the first player in history to have won the accolade on three separate occasions is reflective of his enduring brilliance since joining Liverpool from AS Roma in 2017.
After scoring 250 goals in 420 appearances for the club, he clearly feels he is now not being given the respect he deserves by manager Arne Slot and the Anfield hierarchy.
