Marrakech – Liverpool’s important victory last night at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium in Milan, courtesy of an 88th-minute Dominik Szoboszlai penalty conversion, was largely overshadowed post-match as the club continues to navigate a sensitive situation with star forward Mohamed Salah.
The Egyptian forward, a talisman of Liverpool since he joined the side in 2017, with 250 goals in 420 appearances, voiced his displeasure with his situation at the club after The Reds’ 3-3 draw with Leeds on December 6.
Salah, who did not feature in the fixture at all and who hasn’t been picked to feature in Arne Slot’s struggling Liverpool’s starting eleven since November 26, spoke to the media after the match voicing his displeasure at being sidelined. The player cited a broken relationship with Slot and even hinted at a possible departure from the club.
Salah, who will leave Liverpool on December 15 to join Egypt’s camp for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco, said he’s unsure what will happen after Liverpool’s Saturday clash against Brighton.
“I called my mum yesterday – you guys didn’t know if I would start or not, but I knew,” Salah told reporters after the Leeds match. “Yesterday I said to [my parents], ‘Come to the Brighton game.’ I don’t know if I am going to play or not but I am going to enjoy it. In my head, I’m going to enjoy that game because I don’t know what is going to happen now.”
As a result of Salah’s comments, the forward was not included in Liverpool’s traveling party to Milan yesterday, marking only the third Champions League match the forward has missed since joining the club. Instead, Salah stayed in England, training at the club facilities, per the player’s own social media.
‘It’s never nice to see something like this happen’
Slot, a guest of Prime Sport’s post-match coverage last night, commented on the controversy, going back and forth with retired Dutch international Clarence Seedorf.
Responding to Seedorf’s question as to whether Salah would make a return to the Liverpool squad, claiming that “everyone makes mistakes,” the tactician suggested that the responsibility to amend the relationship falls on the Egyptian winger.
“You say everyone makes mistakes in life, so the first thing should be: does the player think he’s made a mistake as well?” Slot said. “The next question is: should the initiative come from me or from him?”
Slot also discussed the emotional impact Salah’s comments – and his subsequent exile from the matchday squad – have had on the rest of the players.
“Ok, it’s about the player and the manager or the club, but that normally affects players a bit as well, especially because he’s been so so so influential for the club and the players,” Slot commented. “It’s never nice to see something like this happen to one of their teammates.”
Slot declined to comment on whether he’d be willing to sit down and communicate with the winger before the latter departs for AFCON.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk called on his team to “be against the outside noise” when asked if he’d be willing to intervene and mediate.
“I have known Mo for such a long time… He has been a big part of my success at the football club. I’ve been a big part of his success,” the Dutch center-back said. “We as players have to brace ourselves and be against the outside noise.”
In the Premier League, Slot’s side have already lost six matches, two more than they did during the entirety of their league-winning 2024-2025 campaign. With only one win in their last five league matches, the Saturday fixture against Brighton is crucial to build on yesterday’s win. Whether Salah, last season’s Premier League Player of the Season, will rejoin his teammates remains unclear for now.
