Things have become extremely complicated between Mohamed Salah and the Liverpool management recently. The player has made it unequivocally clear to manager Arne Slot that he will never accept being a substitute for the remainder of the season.
Salah was benched for three consecutive Premier League matches and then left out of the Champions League squad against Inter Milan due to his comments against Slot and the management. He subsequently met with the Dutch coach, and they reached a preliminary agreement, allowing him to play in the recent match against Brighton before heading to the Africa Cup of Nations.
According to TeamTalk, Salah emphasized to Slot during his meeting that he would not sit on the bench. Ramy Abbas, Salah’s agent, reiterated this stance in a brief meeting with Liverpool’s sporting director, Richard Hughes.
Liverpool’s management is aware that Salah’s stubborn stance and refusal to accept any secondary role constitutes a genuine crisis that will continue to be a headache for everyone, especially since the team has shown improvement, particularly defensively, when the 33-year-old has been on the bench.
Upon Salah’s return from the Africa Cup of Nations, a crucial meeting will take place between the player and Liverpool’s management. Surprisingly, the Reds’ management is no longer as keen on keeping the Egyptian international as they were a few weeks ago, especially since they don’t want his issues to dominate headlines and negatively impact the team’s performance this season.
Several clubs are already interested in signing Salah. He has been linked with a move to Major League Soccer, and Saudi Arabian clubs are also monitoring the player’s situation. Should he decide to leave, they will immediately try to lure him to the Saudi Professional League.
It’s worth noting that Salah has only scored 5 goals and provided 4 assists this season, marking his worst performance for Liverpool since joining Anfield in 2017.
