With the arrival of Arne Slot as manager, the philosophy changed. The team adopted a ‘one-team’ approach, with no room for a ‘superstar’ and a focus on strong signings and significant spending in the summer transfer window.
Over time, Salah’s physical data – monitored weekly by the management – began to show a decline in certain attacking metrics, such as his touches inside the penalty area (a drop of up to 25% according to some analyses). It wasn’t personal, but tactical: the system came first.
Slott implemented a systematic rotation policy. Salah sat on the bench in crucial matches, and his role diminished.
Then, in December 2025, following the 3-3 draw against Leeds United – a match in which he remained on the bench for a long period – Salah exploded in public statements in which he directly accused the club: “The club wanted to throw me under the bus as if I were the problem here. I’m not.”
He then uttered the pivotal sentence that exposed the conspiracy after he had been led to believe his wishes had been granted and his contract renewed: “It’s very clear that someone wants me to take all the blame. Someone doesn’t want me at the club,” pointing the finger at those behind the scenes implementing a plan to sideline him, the true nature of which he had not realised at first.
The player felt disrespected, whilst the press close to the club focused on the team’s improved results in certain periods without relying entirely on him.
His image gradually shifted from that of the “wronged king” to that of a “star earning an astronomical salary who struggles to adapt to defensive demands”, and he was subjected daily to a fierce media onslaught led by Jamie Carragher, Rooney, Scholes and others.
In the end, Salah lost some of his unconditional fan support, and the management succeeded in shifting the debate from “Why is the team’s legend being sidelined?” to “Is the player’s interest more important than the team’s?”.
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