Mohamed Salah has not been named in Liverpool’s starting XI for the club’s last three fixtures.
In an exclusive interview, Mohamed Salah stated that he feels he has been “thrown under the bus” by Liverpool, alleging a breakdown in his relationship with head coach Arne Slot.
Salah was an unused substitute in Saturday’s 3-3 draw at Leeds United, marking the third consecutive match where the Egyptian star began on the bench.
Following the game, in what has been described as an extraordinary exchange with journalists, the player, who has amassed 250 goals in 420 appearances for Liverpool, expressed his sentiments: “I think it is very clear that somebody wants me to take all the blame.”
“I’ve said a few times before that I have a good relationship with the manager and now all of a sudden we have no relationship. I don’t know why.”
“It seems like the club are throwing me under the bus – that’s how I feel.”
“This club, I will always support it. My kids will always support it. I love the club so much and I always will.”
“It [the situation] is not acceptable to me, to be fair. I don’t get it. It’s like I’m being thrown more under the bus. I don’t think I’m the problem. I have done so much for this club. I don’t have to fight every day for my position because I earn it. I earned my position.”
Salah, 33, recorded 29 goals in the 2024-25 Premier League season, a year which saw the Reds claim the title in Slot’s inaugural season at the helm.
However, his form has dipped subsequently, coinciding with Liverpool’s inability to replicate the heights of the previous campaign.
Since his arrival from Roma in 2017 under Jurgen Klopp’s management, Salah has found the net just four times in 13 top-flight appearances this term.
Sources have confirmed to BBC Sport that interest from the Saudi Pro League in Salah remains. The player signed a new two-year contract with Liverpool in April. Al-Hilal, currently managed by Simone Inzaghi, are reportedly among the clubs monitoring Salah’s situation.
Following the Leeds match, in which Liverpool relinquished a 2-0 lead, then a 3-2 advantage, before conceding a 96th-minute equaliser, Arne Slot explained his decision not to introduce Salah at Elland Road to Sky Sports.
“It was more about controlling the game [at 3-2] and we didn’t need a goal,” Slot stated. “Normally when you need a goal, like last week against Sunderland, I brought Mo on.”
In his pre-match press conference on Friday, Slot acknowledged the speculation surrounding Salah after his omission from the starting lineup.
“The chatter, yes, because he deserves that, he has been so influential for me and [for] six or seven years. It’s completely normal people talk about it when he isn’t playing,” Slot added.
Salah, currently third in Liverpool’s all-time scoring charts behind Ian Rush (346) and Roger Hunt (285), last started for the club in the 4-1 Champions League home defeat against PSV Eindhoven on 26 November.
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