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Liverpool's players reportedly noticed a big change in Mohamed Salah's mood after he found out that he wouldn't be starting against Leeds on Saturday.
The game at Elland Road was the third Premier League game in a row that Salah has started on the bench, and the Egyptian clearly felt as though he should have come back into the team at Leeds after emerging as a half-time substitute against Sunderland last week.
However, Salah was told by Arne Slot on Friday that he would be among the substitutes once again. The Athletic says that Salah's mood changed upon hearing that news, and that his decision to speak to the media after the game at Elland Road came as no surprise to his teammates given his track record of voicing his discontent in public.
However, while many expected that Salah would eventually air his grievances, it was not anticipated that his comments would be quite so extreme.
Clubs in Saudi Arabia and the United States are reportedly poised to move for Salah if he signals an intent to leave Liverpool during the January transfer window.
Salah began his post-game chat with reporters by venting his frustration at not appearing against Leeds, before graduating to more explosive remarks, including saying that someone at the club wants to force him out, that he has no relationship with Arne Slot, and that the end of his Liverpool career could be imminent.
"[I couldn't believe] that I'm sitting on the bench for 90 minutes!" Salah said. "The third time [in a row] on the bench [in the Premier League], I think for the first time in my career. I'm very, very disappointed to be fair. I have done so much for this club down the years and especially last season.
"Now I'm sitting on the bench and I don't know why. It seems like the club has thrown me under the bus. 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.
"This club, I always support it. My kids will always support it. I love the club so much I will always do. I called my mum yesterday - you guys didn't know if I would start or not [against Leeds] – but I knew.
"Yesterday I said to them, 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 heads, I'm going to enjoy that game because I don't know what is going to happen now.
"I will be in Anfield to say goodbye to the fans and go the Africa Cup of Nations. I don't know what is going to happen when I am there."
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