As the fallout from Mohamed Salah's comments against Liverpool and Arne Slot continues, Theo Squires argues it makes little sense to recall the Egyptian against Brighton & Hove Albion
Mohamed Salah of Liverpool looks dejected as he walks off the pitch after the final whistle alongside Liverpool head coach, Arne Slot following his team's draw in the Premier League match between Leeds United and Liverpool at Elland Road
Mohamed Salah of Liverpool looks dejected as he walks off the pitch after the final whistle alongside Liverpool head coach, Arne Slot following his team's draw in the Premier League match between Leeds United and Liverpool at Elland Road
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When Mohamed Salah stopped in the mixed zone at Elland Road to air his grievances at his current plight at Liverpool, having been named on the bench for a third successive match, it was a calculated move. He could not question his dropping by Arne Slot at West Ham United, having seen the Reds win 2-0 while he watched on as an unused substitute.
Nor could he bemoan the situation when brought on at half-time against Sunderland, having failed to inspire Liverpool to victory as they fought out a 1-1 home draw, with the forward himself largely ineffectual as his own difficult individual campaign continued.
But after being left unused against Leeds as the Reds shipped a 96th-minute equaliser, having re-taken the lead themselves late on after throwing away a 2-0 lead, he saw his opportunity and took it.
Speaking to reporters, including the ECHO’s Paul Gorst, in an extraordinary interview, Salah claimed he had been ‘thrown under the bus’ by Liverpool as he accused them of breaking promises since he signed his new contract last April, that someone at the club wanted him out and that his relationship with Slot had completely broken down.
Some of what he said was valid. He is not the sole reason for the Reds’ struggles this season, for example. But while he had his reasons for speaking out, some of it was unreasonable and some of it also crossed a line.
It is now five days since Salah stopped in the Leeds mixed zone and plenty has been said since, with the fallout showing no signs of slowing down as the possibility of an amicable resolution remains up in the air.
But Salah would also hint that Saturday’s home game with Brighton & Hove Albion could prove to be his last as a Liverpool player, perhaps slightly aware of the storm he was about to create. The sight of him appearing to wave goodbye to away supporters at Elland Road would also support such a theory.
“I called my mum and dad and told them to come to the Brighton game,” he said. "It doesn't matter if I play or not. I'm going to enjoy it.
“I am just going to be at Anfield and say goodbye to the fans before the African Cup of Nations, because I don’t know what is going to happen when I am there.”
By speaking out against Slot, Salah was perhaps gambling on his under-pressure head coach losing his job while the Egyptian was away on international duty.
Instead, while draws with Sunderland and Leeds were disappointing, Liverpool are now four games unbeaten without him. And by winning 1-0 in the San Siro, away at last season’s beaten Champions League finalists, Inter Milan, his team-mates sent an emphatic response to this ongoing saga.
Unlike Salah, they did their talking out on the pitch to claim one of the Reds’ best victories of a difficult season to date.
Coming courtesy of a late Dominik Szoboszlai penalty, when Liverpool were down to the bare bones in attack with Cody Gakpo and Federico Chiesa both ruled out, the irony is Salah would have likely started and had the opportunity to be the hero had he not spoken out at Leeds.
Instead, he was left on home at Merseyside as the club took the decision to leave him out of the travelling squad.
As reported by the ECHO at the time, it is understood that Liverpool chose to remove Salah from the squad for a short period, with the decision taken by the club in consultation with and with the full support of Slot.
It’s believed the Reds regard a brief period away from selection being in the best interests of the club, the squad and the player at the moment, though Salah has not been disciplined, with the decision related solely to squad selection.
Whether that short period comes to an end against Brighton remains to be seen.
Speaking after the victory against Inter, Slot would refuse to be drawn on Salah’s future. Ahead of the game, he admitted he did not know if the 33-year-old had played his last game for the club, with his involvement in Brighton remaining up in the air.
And when pushed by compatriot Clarence Seedorf on Amazon Prime Sport, Slot appeared to suggest that Salah would need to approach him and apologise if he is to earn a Liverpool recall.
"You say everyone makes mistakes in life, so the first thing should be, does the player think he's made a mistake as well?” he said. "I haven't said I'm not going to talk to him.
“And the next question is should the initiative come from me or from him. Now that's another question to answer."
You wonder how Salah felt watching Liverpool win in the San Siro without him. While he posted a picture of himself in the gym at the AXA Training Centre on Tuesday morning, followed by a further snap in the park on Wednesday, there was no acknowledgement of the Reds victory without him nor public good luck or celebratory messages that his team-mates have shared on their own social channels when forced to cheer on Slot’s side from afar.
And now he finds himself in a difficult position. Even if he were to apologise to Slot and be welcomed back into the fold with this whole saga swept under the carpet, could you really expect the head coach to change a winning side after such a hard-fought victory in the most trying of circumstances?
Following Saturday’s match with Brighton, Salah will depart for Africa Cup of Nations duty in Morocco. Should Egypt be eliminated in the group stages, he would only definitely miss the Reds’ final two fixtures of the calendar year with Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers, though his involvement against Leeds on New Year’s Day would also be in doubt.
Should the Pharaohs progress further in the tournament, involvement against Fulham, Arsenal, Barnsley, Burnley and Marseille would also be called into question. But after months of Liverpool being aware of the ramifications of Salah’s AFCON commitments, they will now come at a time when he is not in the side regardless.
He might want a farewell against Brighton, just in case his Reds career does come to an end in January. But at this point, the best thing for Slot to leave him on the sidelines before he departs for AFCON.
In a turbulent first half of the season, Salah gambled when creating an unnecessary storm. Such a decision has arguably weakened his position.
And it could be compromised further dependent on how Liverpool continue to perform without him. It is possible it could blow up in his face even more.
Anfield legend Jamie Carragher, who has been at the heart of his own bitter exchange with Salah, played out publicly as a sideshow to this whole messy saga, does not think it makes sense to involve the Egypt captain against Brighton.
“I don’t think so, to be honest. I don’t know why you’d almost bring the circus of it,” he said on CBS. “Whether he was on the bench, ‘is he warming up?’.
“The supporters, I don’t know, could it split the crowd and the manager and Mo Salah?
“Because there’s only one more game before he goes away, I think it’s probably better if he just does leave it for now and then see how the land lies when he’s back from AFCON, and off the back of Liverpool performing well [against Inter].”
While Carragher’s ongoing dispute with Salah has become personal at times, you cannot fault his logic.
Besides, Liverpool have already had to contend with one ‘circus’ this year regarding the future of one possible, high-profile departee.
Unlike Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold did not drop a bomb at the most unwelcome time when announcing his Reds exit. Whether supporters liked his decision or not, his own calculated admission only came after Liverpool had clinched the Premier League title, as to not jeopardise their final charge.
But it still created an unwelcome storm in what would prove to be his penultimate game for the club - and his first since confirming his decision to leave - after being brought on as a substitute against Arsenal.
His every touch was booed by members of the Anfield crowd and the defender was visibly shell-shocked by the reaction, with the Gunners netting their equaliser only moments after Alexander-Arnold’s 67th-minute introduction.
In hindsight, his involvement was not wise as supporter ill-feeling was underestimated, and he was subsequently left unused against Brighton before being granted a farewell appearance off the bench in the final game of the season against Crystal Palace on the day Liverpool got their hands on the Premier League trophy.
But Alexander-Arnold’s situation was black and white for all intents and purposes. He had chosen to leave the club and supporters, while not all in agreement, knew how they felt and how they wanted to react.
In contrast, Salah’s future remains most uncertain - only eight months on from signing the most lucrative contract in the club’s history.
By trying to stake his claim, he has only managed to open the door wider to the possibility of a Liverpool future without him.
Whatever happens in the forthcoming days, it makes little sense to recall him against Brighton at a time when the Reds are fighting to salvage their season.
Liverpool are four unbeaten and coming into the game off a positive win and performance in trying circumstances, while they now face a number of weeks without their Egyptian King anyway.
The boat has already been rocked, so why embrace a second wave? As for what happens in January when Salah returns from AFCON and the transfer window is open, it’s anyone’s guess.
But Slot, usually so calm and collected, is clearly unimpressed by his star player’s comments. He can and will put his team before the individual.
Salah admitting he was prepared to say goodbye to supporters against Brighton was almost a shrouded threat, uttered to send shockwaves at his own conceived severity of his situation.
He is a Liverpool legend and one of the club's greatest ever players and will be remembered as such. But it is only by his hand that that has now become a possible reality, despite his grievances with Slot and the club behind the scenes.
And it is only by Salah’s hand that can now prevent it otherwise.
Set to depart for AFCON in just a few days, if Salah wants to remain a Liverpool player, rather than create another circus against Brighton, he instead needs time to be a great healer.