Former Liverpool midfielder and 2005 Champions League winner Didi Hamann gives his take on Mohamed Salah’s current situation at Anfield
Didi Hamann says the solution for Mohamed Salah’s unhappiness at Liverpool might be for him and the club “to go their separate ways” when the January transfer window opens. But the 2005 Champions League winner feels the issues can still be resolved with Arne Slot and might require intervention from club captain Virgil van Dijk when Salah returns from the Africa Cup of Nations next month.
Salah was named on the bench for three successive matches, against West Ham United, Sunderland and Leeds United, before an explosive post-match interview after the 3-3 draw at Elland Road where he accused the club of being “thrown under the bus” while also claiming his relationship with Slot had broken down.
After being left at home for last week’s 1-0 win at Inter in the Champions League as a result of his public outburst, clear-the-air talks were held between Salah and Slot last Friday at the club’s AXA Training Centre before he returned to the squad that beat Brighton 2-0 on Saturday, as a first-half substitute for the hamstrung Joe Gomez.
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Hamann, who won two FA Cups, two League Cups, the UEFA Cup and the Champions League at Anfield, thinks Salah may have to leave Liverpool after eight glittering years on Merseyside, if he cannot get past his current issues with Slot.
“Mohamed Salah coming on the pitch early (against Brighton) calmed everything down a bit,” Hamann told Jeffbet. “There’s been a lot spoken about him and Liverpool in the last week, now they have three or four weeks to come to an agreement for both parties, whilst Salah is at AFCON.
“The thing that really struck me was when Salah said he’s already earned his place on the pitch, but he should be leading by example. He should be showing the young players that, even if you’ve reached amazing heights as he has, you always need to perform for the team.
“Salah has not performed since last Christmas, so a comment like that really struck me. Obviously, it’s good he’s back in the squad and playing, but this situation isn’t finished yet.
“If Salah doesn’t want to accept that he won’t play, and keeps talking about not having the backing of the manager, then he and the club need to find a solution. That solution may be that they go separate ways.”
Hamann added: “We’ll find out (if clapping the fans at full time means Salah is leaving) in a few weeks. The support from the Liverpool fans for the manager was immense.
“Most of the fans are probably torn between Salah and Slot, because Salah is one of the greats to play for Liverpool.
“But, I expect the fans to stick by the manager and stay on his side as time goes on.
“If I were Salah’s team-mate and was close with him, I would have a word with him. He has a couple of players he’s close with in the team, they may have had a word with him.
“At the end of the day, the situation is between the player, the manager and the club, and it needs to be sorted between them.
“I’m not sure how Salah thinks, he may still think he was right to say what he did, but I think he was in the wrong. This is something a senior player could sort out, like Virgil van Dijk, who is the captain, and asked what Salah’s problem is.
“He’s only been on the bench for two or three games.”
