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Former Liverpool midfielder Jason McAteer has offered an alternative theory to Mohamed Salah’s sensational comments on Saturday, claiming it might not be Arne Slot who is trying to force him out of the club.
Salah stopped in the mixed zone after the 3-3 draw against Leeds United and astonishingly stated that promises had been broken to him and that certain figures at Liverpool don’t want him to remain at Anfield.
“It seems like the club has thrown me under the bus,” the winger said. “That is how I am feeling. I think it is very clear that someone wanted me to get all of the blame.
“I got a lot of promises in the summer and so far I am in the bench for three games so I can't say they keep the promise.
“I said many times before that I had a good relationship with the manager and all of a sudden, we don't have any relationship.
“I don't know why, but it seems to me, how I see it, that someone doesn't want me in the club.”
Most presume that Salah’s last comments were in relation to Slot, who has not started the 33-year-old in the last three matches, but McAteer believes he could be referring to certain club executives.
“The assumption we think is the manager. Let’s say that someone could be [FSG’s CEO of Football] Michael Edwards.
“He [Salah] might have been [given promises], but it might have been Michael Edwards and the sporting director [Richard Hughes]. That’s where contract negotiations go off.
“Arne Slot is involved but the sporting director is in there to do the deal. They might have said, ‘sign for us for two years and we guarantee you’ll play most of the games; we’re going to give you this’.
“Arne Slot might not have agreed to this. I think everyone reads into ‘someone doesn’t want me’ as the manager. I’m not sure.
“I think Michael Edwards may look and think he needs to get money now for this player and get some value. He could be sold to Saudi in January and make £60/£70 million now.”
Despite those claims, McAteer said a conflict between Slot and Salah has always been inevitable.
“Jurgen Klopp never had that problem with Mo Salah. It was always going to come to this point where we’re at today between Arne Slot and Mo Salah,” the ex-Republic of Ireland international said on BeIN Sports.
“It has come premature because of results and performances. No-one predicted that months into his new contract that this would be happening, but it is. It’s a massive power play now between Slot and Mo Salah.”
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