Slot moves to avoid Salah 'circus'
File photo dated 08-12-2025 of Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, who has been included in the Liverpool squad for Saturday's Premier League match against Brighton at Anfield, the Press Association understands. Issue date: Friday December 12, 2025.
by Staff Reporter
Saturday Dec 13, 2025. 15:00
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot admits he has not enjoyed the situation surrounding Mohamed Salah and is looking to avoid a “circus” against Brighton after having constructive talks with the club’s talisman.
Salah gave an explosive interview following the 3-3 draw with Leeds last weekend when he was an unused substitute, having also started on the bench in the previous two Premier League games against West Ham and Sunderland.
The Egypt international claimed that the Reds had ‘thrown him under the bus’ and alluded to promises being broken from when he signed a contract extension in the summer.
Salah was subsequently left out of Slot’s squad for the UEFA Champions League clash with Inter Milan on Tuesday which only fueled speculation that the relationship between player and manager had deteriorated even further.
But the pair held discussions on Friday in a bid to find a way forward and the 33-year-old is expected to make his last appearance at Anfield against the Seagulls before departing for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
“The biggest factor is [to] do the best for the team and for the club,” Slot said in his pre-match press conference ahead of Albion’s visit to Merseyside.
“I haven’t said this before but I can say I am definitely not enjoying this situation. It’s not like I’m happy we are in this situation by far. We have won the league together and he has done so much for the club. Ideally you are not in a situation like this with your player.
“I am far from enjoying it but I have to make my line-ups doing what is best for the club and for the team, in my opinion. That’s not to say that I do so but it is about my opinion. To tell you that I like it, no, I don’t like it and I’m not enjoying it.
“If I can, and it is also good for the team and for the club, I would definitely prefer to [avoid a circus against Brighton] because I don’t think it’s in the interests of the team and the club that we keep having.
“And I don’t think it’s a circus for me, but if it is a circus that is not helpful for anyone. So you try to avoid it as long as you can do what is best for the team.
“If I tell you what my reaction was and what I felt, it would not help us in the current situation. Everything I have done until now is doing what is in the best interest of the club and the team and I don’t think if I tell you what I felt or blah blah that it will help us in the situation.
“I can completely understand why you ask as it is interesting to know but what I’ve tried to do since I’ve been here and for this whole situation is doing what is best for the team and the club in this situation as it is already challenging enough for us without this situation.”