Mohamed Salah has spoken against the club after being benched for three matches in-a-row with Liverpool drawing most recently against Leeds United
Mohamed Salah appeared to wave goodbye to the Liverpool supporters following the club’s dramatic 3-3 draw with Leeds United. The 33-year-old stunned the football world after accusing Arne Slot’s side of ‘throwing him under the bus’.
Liverpool looked set for a hard-fought three points at Elland Road. They led 2-0 with just under 20 minutes remaining before Daniel Farke’s side clawed back two goals. Dominik Szoboszlai restored the advantage on 80 minutes, but the Leeds fans erupted deep into stoppage time as Ao Tanaka struck in the 96th minute.
Slot opted not to start Salah for the third consecutive match. The Egyptian has played only 45 minutes across Liverpool’s last three fixtures, coming on at half-time against Sunderland.
Those decisions appear to have angered Salah, who voiced his frustration to the media after the game. But before speaking publicly, he walked over to the travelling fans and seemed to bid them farewell.
While his teammates shook hands, Salah made his way to the away end, applauding the supporters and repeatedly waving with both hands.
His expression barely changed throughout. He clapped and waved for nearly a full minute before heading down the tunnel, where he then claimed his relationship with the club is now ‘broken.’
Liverpool fans reacted quickly online. One wrote: “Either he’s leaving in January or he just wants to say bye to the travelling Kop before going to AFCON.” Another added: “Looks like a bye. That’s criminal from Slot,” while a third said: “He knows it’s not his fault. Yet he is being punished. And soon he won’t be able to make it right because he will be away with Egypt.”
Clubs must release players for AFCON by Monday, 15 December. With the final set for 18 January, Salah could face an awkward situation if his future is unresolved.
The January transfer window opens on 1 January and closes on 3 February. If Salah is considering an exit, and Egypt progress deep into the tournament, he may already have played his final game for Liverpool. Any potential deal would most likely be completed upon his return to England so he could be involved.
When asked if he had played his last game for the club, Salah replied: “In football you never know. I don’t accept this situation. I have done so much for this club.”
He continued: “This club, I always support it. My kids will always support it. I love the club so much. I will always do. I called my mum yesterday – you guys didn’t know if I would start or not, but I knew.
“Yesterday I said to them, come to the Brighton game (on 13 December). I don’t know if I am going to play or not, but I am going to enjoy it. In my head, I’m going to enjoy that game because I don’t know what is going to happen now.”
When asked whether he regretted signing his contract last year, Salah said: “Imagine how bad that I have to answer it, honestly. That hurts, even the question hurts.
“This club, signing for this club, I will never regret it. I thought I’m going to renew here and end my career here, but this is not according to the plan, so I’m not regretting signing for the club for sure.”
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