Mohamed Salah future remains unclear at at Liverpool after Arne Slot rant

Mohamed Salah's future at Liverpool remains uncertain on transfer deadline day following his explosive comments about being benched by Arne Slot and feeling "thrown under the bus" by the club

Mohamed Salah on the bench at Liverpool(Image: Getty)

Mohamed Salah's future at Liverpool remains a subject of intense speculation following his explosive revelation at the tail end of last year. The Egypt international has now returned from the Africa Cup of Nations and rejoined Arne Slot's squad.

The 33 year old signed for the Reds in 2017, having previously failed to establish himself at Chelsea, though few could have anticipated the extraordinary career he would carve out at Anfield. Throughout nearly a decade on Merseyside, he has ascended to become Liverpool's record Premier League marksman and also holds that accolade in European competition.

He has secured practically every major honor available with the club, claiming the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup. At the beginning of 2025, it seemed likely he would depart from this legacy, with previous summer interest from the Saudi Pro League lingering and his contract nearing expiry.

However, Salah committed to a new two-year agreement with the Reds in April.

When issues surfaced during the present season near the end of last year, Salah found himself amongst Slot's substitutes. His exit became a topic of conversation again following a tense post-match interview, and Salah's acknowledgement means his Liverpool future stays in doubt.

After a 3-3 draw with Leeds United, Salah took the rare step of speaking directly to reporters in the mixed zone. Despite having signed a new contract only months before, he laid bare his frustrations.

"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," he said. "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 on 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."

When pressed on whether his relationship with boss Slot had broken down, Salah replied: "Yeah, there's no relationship between us. It was a very good relationship and now all of a sudden there is no relationship."

Mohamed Salah's future remains uncertain(Image: Getty)

His candid remarks hinted he was seriously considering his future at Anfield. Slot addressed the comments ahead of Liverpool's Champions League tie against Inter Milan, a match from which Salah was again left out, saying: "It was a surprise to me when I heard he gave the comments he gave."

Shortly afterwards, Salah travelled to AFCON with Egypt, where he guided them to another semi-final but fell short against eventual winners Senegal.

They exited the competition 1-0 at that stage and lost to Nigeria on spot-kicks in the third-place play-off.

Nevertheless, before his departure, team-mate Curtis Jones revealed that after a fixture against Brighton, in which Salah came off the bench to set up a goal, the 33 year old had already apologised to his team-mates for the controversial interview.

Jones told Sky Sports: "Mo is his own man and he can say his own stuff. He apologised to us and was like, 'If I've affected anybody or made you feel any sort of way, I apologise'. That's the man that he is.

"I can only speak from me knowing Mo and how he is with us and how he acted on that. He was positive as well. He was the exact same Mo, he had a big smile on his face and everybody was exactly the same with him. I guess it's just part of wanting to be a winner and I don't think he will be the last."

The immediate assumption after Salah's outburst was that he'd be seeking an exit in January and whilst this fraught situation has settled, the Egyptian's fate on deadline day remains fundamentally uncertain.