Details have emerged after Mohamed Salah reportedly held a “secret meeting” with a former Liverpool teammate in London. The Egyptian international has been on thin ice at Anfield in recent days following his explosive interview, in which he spoke about being “thrown under the bus” by someone at the club and said his relationship with Arne Slot had deteriorated very quickly.
The 33-year-old signed a new two-year contract back in May, during the celebrations of a Premier League title win, in part to drown out noise from potential Saudi Pro League suitors. But after being benched for three successive matches - a 2-0 win over West Ham, a 1-1 draw with Sunderland, and a 3-3 draw at Leeds United - rumours of his departure have resurfaced.
Jamie Carragher called Salah’s public outcry a “disgrace”, and the forward’s final match as a Liverpool player could come this Saturday at home to Brighton before he leaves for AFCON over the January transfer window. An exclusive from The Sun suggests he has already held meetings to get a clearer sense of whether a move to the Middle East is worth pursuing.
Mohamed Salah Related
Mo Salah Tweets After Being Left Out of Liverpool's Champions League Squad vs Inter Milan
The Egyptian international has put up a wordless social media post, but it still warrants a lot of attention.
Salah Held "Secret Meeting" with Jordan Henderson in London
Jordan Henderson and Mohamed Salah
The sensational report recounts how Salah and his former Liverpool captain, who had a brief stint in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ettifaq but now plays for Brentford, snuck into upmarket Italian restaurant Scalini to have lunch and a long conversation. Onlookers told the tabloid newspaper that they had arrived in COVID-style masks to hide their identity.
“Our mouths dropped when we saw it was Mo and Jordan. The immediate thought was, ‘Salah’s off to Saudi’," one eyewitness said. Meanwhile, another added: “Mo looked happy as he listened and took it all in. He kept asking Jordan questions, and lent in eagerly to hear what was being said.
"I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing. It was obvious Jordan was explaining things to Mo, who listened so intently and was clearly mulling over what he was being told.”
Indeed, nobody can be certain what was being said between the pair, who have previously won a Champions League and Premier League title together. It's a high chance that they were just catching up on old memories but, of course, the media will go wild in uncertain times like these, as Salah was left out of the travelling squad as the Reds beat Inter Milan 1-0 at the San Siro on Tuesday night.
Salah's Liverpool Future
Mohamed Salah
A host of Saudi clubs are among the 13 favourites to swoop in for Salah over the January transfer window, as are Italian clubs such as Napoli, Inter, and former side Roma. While the general feeling is that he made his incendiary comments to either push a move for himself or put Slot under pressure, revered journalist David Ornstein revealed the club's stance hasn't changed much.
Senior club figures have pointed to the fact that Salah is under contract until the summer of 2027, and his recent spell out of the starting line-up was only viewed as a temporary measure, as reasons to believe the relationship between their Egyptian King and the club's hierarchy can heal in the coming weeks.