1 day ago
7
Rio Ferdinand has become the latest pundit to weigh in on the Mohamed Salah situation at Liverpool. Even an impressive away win at the San Siro has not been enough to shift the narrative away from the Egyptian King, and the former Man Utd defender has had his say.
As you will no doubt already be aware by now, Salah shocked everyone by stopping to speak to jounalists after the draw with Leeds. He dropped the bombshell that he has "no relationship" with manager Arne Slot, having been left out of the team for three successive matches.
Liverpool has been left to deal with the fallout. One thing the club will be keen to avoid is the situation developing into a Salah vs Slot scenario, where the dressing room feels as though it has to take sides.
As far as Ferdinand is concerned, such an impasse may not end well for Slot. He is confident that the Liverpool squad will all be keen for Salah to stay at the club.
"There’s no doubt in my mind that the Liverpool players don’t want Mohamed Salah to leave," Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel. "Because he helps them win trophies."
Of course, Slot would be well within his rights to argue that Salah has not been helping the hunt for silverware this season. He is out of the team precisely because his output is no longer justifying the easy ride he gets afforded on the defensive side of the game.
On the other hand, it was only a matter of months ago that Salah was winning the Golden Boot on the way to firing Liverpool to the title. It would certainly be hasty to say that he is no longer capable of having that kind of impact, and Ferdinand is right to say that the rest of the camp would no doubt prefer to keep a player of that quality on their side.
You can also have some sympathy for Salah feeling scapegoated. He has been way off the pace this season, but the same can be said of almost everybody not named Dominik Szoboszlai.
But all in all, it's clear that Ferdinand does not exactly have his finger on the pulse when it comes to the Liverpool dressing room. So far, everyone who has spoken publicly has tended implictly toward siding with Slot, while seeking to play down the extent of the conflict and promote an amicable outcome.
Curtis Jones insisted that the players have "always" been behind Slot, while refusing to comment on Salah specifically. Andy Robertson declared that everyone remains together internally, while acknoweldging that Salah had created a "tough situation".
One thing that Ferdinand is right about is that there is no particular need for this to escalate into a departure for Salah. He has been contracted through 2027, at great expense, and the club will feel as though it holds the cards at least for another six months.
With his teammates no doubt wanting him to stay, and his manager prepared to offer him a way back, the onus is on Salah to decide whether to escalate things further or to knuckle down. Under any head coach, there was always going to come a point where his place in the side was no longer guaranteed, and it is now a question of how he responds to that.
A version of Salah who is determined to get his head down and win his place back could yet be a massive asset between now and the end of the campaign, and even beyond. Liverpool still has plenty of things to fight for, not least in the Champions League, and Slot's chances of achieving his aims are higher with the Egyptian on board.
And one thing's for sure: a move to Man Utd is not on the cards. Ferdinand claimed that he would "make a public offer" if he was in charge at his former club — something that probably tells you all you need to know about how seriously the Liverpool dressing room will be taking him.
English (US) ·