After Liverpool dropped two points against Leeds United, Mohamed Salah shocked the football world with an unexpected rant about his situation at Anfield.
The Egyptian claimed promises have been broken after he sat on the bench for three consecutive goals. Last season, Salah made history by scoring or assisting 57 goals in all competitions.
That said, he has lost a lot of credit for his public and personal tirade to the media in the wake of the draw with Leeds United.
Arne Slot has now hinted Salah must apologise for the club to move forward from this situation. This may aggravate the player more but it does seem the only peaceful way this ends.
Rio Ferdinand urges Manchester United to bid for Mohamed Salah
Nothing would inflame this situation more than Salah moving to United, even if that is the least likely outcome.
“There’s no way Mo Salah goes to Man United,” Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel. “I don’t I don’t think he’s got that trait in him that Wazza [Wayne Rooney] or [Carlos] Tevez had where he goes the extra mile.
“But yeah, I would make an offer, a public one as well! It would be unbelievable, wouldn’t it? It would be a joke.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that the Liverpool players don’t want Mohamed Salah to leave because he helps them win trophies.
“But I think he’s gone, it’s gone too far. Salah clearly thinks the manager has an ulterior motive and wants him out of the club.”
Ferdinand’s take highlights how serious the situation is
While no one seriously believes he could join Liverpool’s arch-rivals, the fact that there is a concrete chance Salah leaves the club in January is highlighted by Ferdinand’s take.
It can only be classed as a complete failure by Slot and Liverpool that Salah feels disenfranchised just months after putting pen to paper on a new contract worth in the region of £485,000 per week.
There is undoubtedly a lot more to this story than the public knows – or ever will, for that matter – but Liverpool cannot get away from the fact that one of their greatest ever players feels unwanted.
He was wrong to publicly lambast the manager, but his feelings cannot be discounted.
How this ends cannot be accurately predicted at this stage, but it’s difficult to imagine a positive outcome at present.