Curtis Jones has shed light on what Mohamed Salah told the Liverpool squad after voicing his displeasure with Arne Slot and the club following their 3-3 draw at Leeds. Salah said that his relationship with the head coach had deteriorated and felt he had been 'thrown under the bus' after being left out of the starting line-up for three consecutive matches.
Following his remarks, Salah was omitted from the Liverpool squad that travelled to face Inter Milan in a Champions League victory. His comments also hinted that Saturday's match against Brighton could be his last for the club, casting doubt over his future at Anfield.
Despite facing criticism for airing his grievances publicly and the timing of his comments, Salah was brought back into the fold for the clash with the Seagulls after positive discussions with Slot.
Although he began the game on the bench, Salah was called upon to replace the injured Joe Gomez midway through the first half and made a significant impact, assisting Hugo Ekitike's second goal of the day as Liverpool secured a 2-0 victory.
Liverpool will now have to make do without Salah for several weeks. The 33-year-old is due to join up with Egypt for the Africa Cup of Nations, meaning the speculation surrounding his future is likely to persist in the run-up to the January transfer window.
Following the 2-0 victory over Brighton, Jones sought to clarify Salah's recent remarks, emphasising that the forward had been explicit in stating his comments were neither directed at the squad nor any particular team-mate.
"We all love Mo. I love Mo," Jones told Viaplay. "At my hardest times at the club, you know, he was always one of the ones who was there. I could always speak to (him). And it's exactly the same now.
"Mo's his own man, he's got his own opinions. And, you know, I don't think his intentions were to affect the team or anything like that. It was just a personal thing.
"And as everybody knows, the team, the fans, the staff, we all love Mo. He's a great guy.
"I don't really like to speak on another man's issues or his business and stuff - that has to do with Mo. But at the end of the day, I think the important thing that Mo made clear was that it's not against the team or anything like that, just a personal issue, and that's it."
The Brighton match marked Jones's 200th appearance for Liverpool, making him the youngest player to achieve this milestone since Steven Gerrard in 2003.
Having been coached by the Anfield icon at youth level, Jones was eager to acknowledge Gerrard's influence, crediting his former manager's firm approach during his academy years with shaping his career trajectory. "Not a bad person to follow, is it? Steven has obviously been a huge part of my career and life," Jones added to LFC TV.
"And I say life because he was probably the first man to really have a pop at me at the academy! And that changed me to think I'm not better than anybody else or anything like that. It was a reality check in terms of how I played and the role that he gave me.
"Steven would be the first to say that once I overcame a thing where I'd complicate things and I thought I was the man because I had the 10 on my back and all things like that, that I'd be the first man that he'd pick on his team.
"I'd always been a kid who was top of the age group and all things like that. At times you can become a little bit passive, I'd say.
"And Steven was the first one to give me a real, real check. Coming from a man like him, a man who has played the game, a man who I idolised, I've got to change if it's him who is telling me.
"From there, he stuck with me and I stuck with him and we worked. A year after I'm around the first team and now I'm stood here on 200 games so he's obviously a man who I would like to thank.
"It's mad. I actually had a chat with Trey [Nyoni] and Rio [Ngumoha] was there as well.
"I just said, 'Boys, I know you will hear it all the time from staff and family around you, about how fast it goes. But my God, it goes so fast'. If I think about my first game, Wolves away, and how fast the whole thing has changed.
"I can only thank the staff around me and the team-mates around me who have always got the belief in me to keep me at the club and when I play, to trust that I can play in that many games.
"I can only thank my mum and the family around me, who have obviously played a huge part... the times when it was taxis into training and things like that.
"And the environment I was obviously around as a kid, a Scouse kid, it's quite easy to take another route. But I only had one goal in my mind: that was to play at this club.
"And that's what I'm doing so I've got a massive smile on my face. It's 200 down - and hopefully there's many, many more to come."
The midfielder has featured in Liverpool's previous three fixtures, catching the eye at times operating in a deeper role alongside Ryan Gravenberch, whilst also excelling when deployed within a diamond formation.
Throughout his Anfield career, the 24-year-old has faced accusations of dwelling on possession and hampering the tempo of attacks.
However, Jones tackled such criticism head-on whilst expressing his ambition to retain his position in Slot's first-choice line-up.
"I'm just one of them who loves to play, I just enjoy having the ball at my feet," he explained. "I've obviously heard that there's criticism at times that I don't move the ball quick enough.
"That's just because I'm comfortable on the ball, I don't want to be in a rush and then I give a ball to a lad who is not as comfortable as me on the ball and he is kind of in a little bit of a challenge and then he gets the blame.
"I'd rather just take it on me and know that a lad who comes to press me is going to have to do an awful lot to take the ball off me.
"I'm adapting always, I'm trying to improve all the time. I want to score more goals, I want to get more assists.
"In terms of the role that I play, I'm happy to be part of the team and if the gaffer picks me, he picks me. If he doesn't, he doesn't.
"I'm always going to be there to show that I deserve to play. That's what I'm trying at the minute."