CARRAGHER SAYS SALAH’S ‘CHOREOGRAPHED’ OUTBURST A ‘DISGRACE’ AFTER SLOT LEAVES DOOR AJAR
Arne Slot, the Liverpool head coach, has said he has “no clue” whether Mohamed Salah has played his last game for the club, but insists he is “a firm believer there is always a possibility to return for a player”.
Salah was dropped from Liverpool’s Champions League squad travelling to Inter Milan following his explosive comments about his relationship with Slot, his treatment by the club and his future.
After Saturday’s 3-3 draw at Leeds, for which Salah was an unused substitute in his third successive match starting on the bench, the Egypt forward said his relationship with Slot had broken down and he felt someone at the club was trying to force him out.
Jamie Carragher, the Telegraph Sport columnist and former Liverpool centre-back, added on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football show that he though Salah’s outburst was little more than a “disgrace”.
When asked whether Salah had played his final game for Liverpool, Slot, speaking ahead of Tuesday’s match at San Siro, said: “I have no clue, I cannot answer that question at this period in time.”
He added: “I’m a firm believer there is always a possibility to return for a player. I can leave it at that.
“I don’t feel my authority is undermined. It is not about me, if my life is difficult. It’s not important, it is whether it is more difficult for the team and the club.”
More to follow
Carragher: Stop obssessing about numbers and help the players
The one time I wanted to be really critical this season about Mo Salah on the pitch – I have never been critical of him on the pitch – he is a legend of the club, if he never scores another goal goal or gets another assist for this, I don’t care.
Where he let himself down was Frankfurt, and maybe another game, where there is a player who has signed for Liverpool who needs a goal more than anyone: Florian Wirtz.
Instead of just being a great player for the club, be a great ambassador for the club. Roll the ball to him for an easy tap-in, and go over to give him a hug and a kiss and say ‘you’re the guy who is going to lead Liverpool forward’.
I’ve seen Barnes at the end, I’ve seen Rush at the end, I’ve seen Steven Gerrard at the end. Do you think they were the same players as in their pomp? No, of course they weren’t’!
The one criticism I’ve got: help the other players, don’t be obsessed with you own numbers.
‘He should be helping the club get out of this run’
Going after the owners initially, these are owners who have given him hundreds of thousands of pounds for six years. He’s complained a year ago because they haven’t given him a contract at the age of 32. They are entitled to do that.
With the manager right now, he should be doing as much as he can to help the club get out of the worst run they have had since the 1950s.
More from Carragher on Salah
He has thrown the Liverpool right-back under the bus for eight years by not tracking back. Can you imagine playing behind him?
But we accept it because he’s a superstar and he’s scored 250 goals and he’s given me as a Liverpool supporter one of the greatest nights of my life.
Carragher: ‘It was a disgrace... he has thrown the club under the bus’
I thought it was a disgrace. Some people have painted it as an emotional outburst, I don’t think it was.
When Salah stops in a mixed zone, which he has done four times in eight years, it’s choreographed between him and his agent to cause maximum damage and strengthen his own position.
He did that 12 months ago and I called him out on the show about it. He played on the heartstrings of Liverpool supporters. Liverpool were top of the league, he’d scored the winning goal at Southampton.
That was the time to come out and put pressure on the Liverpool ownership, so for the rest of the season you’d have banners saying ‘give Mo his dough’.
He has chosen this weekend and he has waited for a bad result - conceding a last-minute goal, Liverpool players, supporters and the manager feel they are gutter.
He has chosen that time to go for the manager and maybe get him sacked. That’s the way I feel about it.
The phrase that jumped out at me was ‘thrown under the bus’. He has tried to throw the club under the bus twice in the last 12 months.
Jamie Carragher is about to speak about Salah
The analysis of Liverpool’s 3-3 draw at Leeds has concluded, and they are not playing a clip of Salah’s interview on Monday Night Football.
Slot on what he could have done differently
If it is only just because he doesn’t play then that could be the answer to your question. Just play him every single time.
But maybe that is not why he said what he said, maybe there is something else. But I don’t know.
Maybe it is something else which is why he thinks and feels this way. He has every right to feel how he feels but he doesn’t have the right to share it with the media - well, he has the right but then we have to react to it.
Alisson: Salah did not want to disrespect anyone
No, I don’t think his goal was to disrespect anyone. I believe he has the freedom of speech, to talk about how he feels. You have the freedom to talk but you need to deal with the consequences, that is clear.
Some more from Slot on if the rift is taking its toll
It’s not about me, if my life is difficult, yes or no, that’s not very important in a situation like this.
It’s if it is more difficult for the team and for the club. No one likes us to be in the situation we’re in at the moment.
First of all, it’s difficult to see staff members who work so hard are affected by the situation we’re in now. Mainly because of the results.
I’m the manager, I have to pick a team so to a certain extent I’m important, but my focus is on the team and not on me.
Alisson asked about Salah’s future
I hope he plays for the club again but that’s a situation between Mo and the club.
Alisson asked about Salah’s absence
It’s not an easy situation but as a group we take it as easy as we take. On a personal level, I have played with Mo one year in Roma and, if I am not mistaken, eight years in Liverpool.
He is a great guy, great character, a legend of Liverpool FC. We have achieved so much together, so personally it is not something that makes me happy.
In football, we do not have time to stay moaning about any situation we have a big challenge tomorrow.
Him not being available is a consequence of what he did and he is smart enough to understand that.
As well as Salah’s absence
There is no Federico Chiesa, because of illness, and no Cody Gakpo for Slot to choose from in Milan. Liverpool’s head coach says Gakpo will be out for a few weeks with a muscular injury. That leaves summer signings Wirtz, Isak and Ekitike as a potential front three, but there is not much depth behind them.
What did Salah mean by ‘thrown under the bus’?
The only one who can answer that is Mo himself.
I can guess but I don’t think that is the right thing to do at this moment in time. It’s hard for me to tell who he means in that situation.
On the decision to leave Salah out
Usually I’m calm and polite but it doesn’t mean I weak. It is up to we, the club, to react and you can see we have because he is not here.
Has Salah played his last game
I have no clue.
Slot on Salah’s reaction to their conversation today
[Laughs]... a short one.
Slot on why he decided to bench Salah
We have struggled more and more with the gameplans other teams had against us. I’m not just talking about the long ball style, but I’m trying to come up with solutions because that is my job.
We looked very vulnerable against Forest and PSV, so I tried to play with an extra midfielder against West Ham and against Sunderland when he came on at half-time.
Against Leeds we played against a 5-3-2 and I decided to play a 4-4-2 diamond if you want to look at it like this, with Hugo Ekitike off the right and Cody Gakpo off the left with Florian Wirtz in the middle. I could have chosen Mo, but chose Hugo.
No clarity of Salah’s availability vs Brighton
The most thoughts I’ve had are about tomorrow and in the meantime we’ve decided not to take him with us to this game. After tomorrow we will consider the situation again.
I’m a firm believer that there is always a possibility to return for a player, so I can leave it with that.
Arne Slot is here.. asked if the relationship has broken down
We let him know that he’s not travelling with us so that was the only communication that there has been from us to him.
Of course, before Saturday, the two of us have spoken a lot. Sometimes longer, sometimes shorter.
That’s not the way I feel [that relationship has broken down] but he has the right to feel how he feels things. I haven’t felt that at all, until Saturday evening, for sure.
When I didn’t play him, usually players don’t like the manager that much but he was very respectful to my staff, to his teammates and he trained really hard.
So, to an extent, it was a surprise to me when I heard after the game that he gave the comments that he gave.
Like I said, it’s not the first time and won’t be the last time that when a player doesn’t play, that he says something similar to what he did.
My reaction to that is also clear. He isn’t here tonight.
Wayne Rooney speaking on his podcast
To have the arrogance to say he doesn’t have to earn his place because he has already earned his place, you need to be at your best every week to try and stay in the team.
If I was one of his team-mates, I wouldn’t be happy at all with what he said because this is where Liverpool need him most.
If anything, he has thrown Liverpool under the bus with his words.
He’s been absolutely incredible for Liverpool, but this was disrespectful to his team-mates, manager and fans.
What did Salah say?
b'Have your say
Inter head coach Cristian Chivu asked about Salah
It’s not my concern. The only thing I know is they can sub players for Salah and keep the level as high as this team and club has done for their whole history. They have a team, they don’t have only one player. We neen to be concerned about whatever they do as a group, as a unit.
Arne Slot expected to speak at 6.45pm
The usual routine before an away Champions League match, but this will be no ordinary press conference for Liverpool’s head coach. The call to leave Salah out of the squad is a club-wide decision according to reports, but as is the way (certainly in English football) it is the head coach/manager who must face the music.
Telegraph Sport columnist Jamie Carragher will also speak for the first time since Salah’s post-Leeds interview on Monday Night Football, which begins at 6.30pm.
A flavour of some of the reaction towards Salah
Graeme Souness, speaking to Talksport this morning, said: “He’s playing for a football club that is an institution. He’s disrespecting first of all his teammates, he’s disrespecting the supporters, that football club and all the great things that that club has achieved in its history.”
Mohamed Salah left out of Liverpool squad for Inter Milan game
Mohamed Salah has been left out of the Liverpool squad to face Inter Milan following the bombshell interview in which he criticised the club.
Liverpool made the decision in consultation with manager Arne Slot, who is understood to fully support the call.
Salah claimed after the 3-3 draw away to Leeds United he had been “thrown under the bus” by the club and that his relationship with Slot had broken down after he was left on the bench for three successive games.
Liverpool now believe that a brief period away from selection is in the best interests of Salah, the squad and the club as a whole.
There must now be major questions over whether Salah will play for the club again. The Egyptian, who trained as usual on Monday morning, travels to the Africa Cup of Nations after Saturday’s home game with Brighton.
Salah is most likely to join the Saudi Pro League should he leave Liverpool in January, or next summer, with Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad interested in signing him and having the funds available.
However, Ben Harburg, the American owner of Saudi SPL club Al-Kholood, says the league should not be held to ransom by big-name players such as Salah, who might be seeking a move.
In a social media post, Harburg said: “I would be more than happy to see Mohamed Salah, Vinicius Jr and others in the Saudi League even though I prefer to sign rising stars instead of players at the end of their careers.
“But we must not pay a single riyal more than what they get in Europe, because Saudi Arabia is not a hard place to live in; rather, it is an opportunity and an advantage for those who live and work here.
“To be honest, the quality of life in the Kingdom is much better than in most European countries and therefore we should not overpay salaries just to convince players to come.”
2025-12-08T13:10:40Z