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Well, were do you start?
The moment Mohamed Salah walks up to reporters, you know it’s not just going to be any old interview. But even those gathered in the mixed zone at Elland Road on Saturday wouldn’t have expected just how explosive the Liverpool winger would be.
Having been dropped to the bench for the last three games, suddenly there’s a very real chance that Salah may never play for the club again after he accused Liverpool of throwing him under the bus, while claiming his relationship with Arne Slot looks to be broken beyond repair - and that may be the most damning of his extraordinary comments.
Salah hitting out at the club is nothing new. He did it last year when his contract was close to expiring, and even that was far from the first instance of him of showing displeasure with the powers that be.
But to call out Slot at a time when his position is already under fire is especially vicious. Up until last week, this was a relationship that seemed rosy, with Salah having praised his head coach at the end of last season for catering to his aversion to defending.
Now, after just three games on the bench, the 33-year-old has clearly decided he has had enough, and though he didn’t specifically say it himself, you don’t have to do too much reading between the lines to know what outcome Salah is looking for.
He has essentially told Liverpool it’s either him or Slot, and one will have to go - if not both. It is quite the stunning play from a man who signed a new contract just a matter of months ago - and it feels like a particularly calculated tactic.
Slot was already under considerable pressure given Liverpool’s slump this season, and the way in which his side had contrived to come away from Leeds with just a point after being in control at 2-0 only served to turn the heat up some more.
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The last thing he needed then was one of the fans’ favorites to join in the pile-on, but Salah knows he will get support, even if it's not quite unanimous.
Whether other players feel the same way, we may never know, given the rest of the squad are unlikely to ever go down the same route as Salah. But it is impossible now for Slot to avoid suggestions that he has lost the dressing room when one of his players is publicly revealing their fallout.
That puts FSG, and in particular Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards, in a very delicate position. The former talked up Slot’s ability to manage a big club when he arrived last year, but the situation already looks to be spiraling out of his control.
And of course, they know all about player power - it’s how they managed to pull off the record-breaking signing of Alexander Isak, after all. There was no sign of the striker throwing his toys out of the pram before Liverpool looked as though it might be giving up on its pursuit, and eventually he got his wish after going on strike at Newcastle.
Hughes and Edwards will now have to gauge whether this is a case of just one disgruntled player hitting out at an opportune time, or whether there is a much bigger issue at hand. If it’s the latter, then they face having to fire the man they put so much faith into.
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