EXCLUSIVE: Mohamed Salah’s outburst has revealed that there is a rift with Liverpool head coach Arne Slot, and Glen Johnson feels there is more to the story going on behind the scenes
Former Liverpool defender Glen Johnson says Arne Slot and Mohamed Salah must have had “many bust-ups” for the Egyptian to speak out so explosively. The 33-year-old was an unused substitute for the Reds’ 3-3 draw against Leeds United as he was forced to endure a third successive game on the bench.
The Dutchman dropped the forward during Liverpool’s dismal run of form, which was compounded by resounding defeats to Manchester City, Nottingham Forest and PSV Eindhoven. Despite being in the cold on Saturday, Salah unleashed in a bombshell interview which shook the Premier League champions to the core.
It has left Slot under further pressure after one of his star players spoke out against him, on top of the current struggles that his side face with just two wins in the Premier League since September.
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Salah trained with the first-team on Monday ahead of their must-win Champions League showdown against Inter Milan. However, he was left out of the travelling squad for the encounter at the San Siro.
“We’ll find out if they win (if it’s the right decision),” Johnson said, speaking exclusively to the ECHO via BetWright Betting UKon the decision to leave Salah on Merseyside.
“But it’s one of those. I totally get it because it’s a respect thing as well, just because he’s kind and honest and open, it doesn’t make him weak. Some people maybe take his kindness for weakness.
“I think he has to do it, but also it doesn’t really take it out of the limelight because still now everyone’s talking about it even more. But then I think for him going forward, I think it’s the right decision because it sets a good message to his team-mates, or other players. People can’t say to him in the future, ‘Oh well, you know, you’re weak in that moment, you should have done this, blah, blah, blah.’
“If it was not Mo Salah and a different or maybe a lesser key name, then it’s easier to drop them. So I think it’s a big strong message and right now I do think it’s the right decision.”
Salah fired Liverpool to the Premier League title last season as he inspired the Reds to usurp Manchester City from the English football summit.
In doing so, the 33-year-old netted 29 times and topped the charts for assists. But it came with the backdrop of his contract uncertainty as he faced leaving the Reds on a free transfer, when the season concluded.
However, he signed fresh terms but speaking on Saturday, he felt that promises had been broken. The Egyptian revealed that the relationship with Slot coach had been diminished.
Johnson claimed that for the Liverpool icon to speak vociferously on his future, current situation at Anfield and the Reds head coach, there must have been a trail of disagreements along the way.
He added: “Well, the lack of football probably comes from the breakdown with a manager, very rarely do you see players suffer in silence and then have an outburst in public because you can have a row in training, you can go and bang on the manager’s door every day. Which players do.
“So if you’re having a bust-up, that’s cool, that happens, but you still gotta do your job. We’ve all played for managers that we don’t even like.
“You play for managers that you love, but you still gotta do your job. You’re not there to be best friends. So I think they would have had many, if this is the last resort, they must have had many bust-ups behind the scenes that we didn’t know about because like I say, going to the public in this manner is never the first option.”
