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Gary Lineker believes Mohamed Salah’s quarrel with Liverpool may have been solved as the winger makes his way to the Africa Cup of Nations.
Salah is due to head to Morocco today to meet up with his Egypt teammates before the tournament begins on December 21. With the final being played on January 18, the 33-year-old could end up missing eight games for the Reds.
He makes his way to AFCON still with his future at Anfield up in the air following his outburst against the club and Arne Slot, in which he suggested that he could play his final game for Liverpool before going on international duty.
Salah did indeed return to the squad against Brighton after being left out against Inter Milan in midweek, and he made his way off the bench during the first half of the 2-0 victory.
He gave very little away in terms of hints as to whether he could now look to move on from the Reds, with the January transfer window just over a couple of weeks away from opening. Salah turned down the opportunity to conduct an interview after the game which might have given more insight into his current situation.
Former Match of the Day host Lineker though believes all might be well now, and praised Slot’s handling of the outburst.
"I thought it was really well handled overall,” Lineker said on the latest episode of The Rest Is Football.
“Arne Slot has dealt with it very maturely. The fact that Liverpool fans applauded Salah when he came on was good. I am relieved because you don't want his legacy to be tainted. That would be really sad.
"You don't know what will happen in the future but now he can go to the AFCON and come back. Salah may have apologized but it seems to me that it could have been resolved.
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"In a relationship, you are going to have a tiff. It seems to me like a lovers' tiff. Get over it and move on. That seems to be what has happened, from the outside.
“He is one of the Premier League greats and has had a tough period.”
Discussions are set to continue between Liverpool and Salah’s representatives while the winger is away at AFCON, with his future beyond January still not all that clear despite successful showdown talks with Slot on Friday.
A move to Saudi Arabia has been touted yet again, with Salah having been regularly linked with a move to the Pro League for the last few years now.
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