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Mohamed Salah caused a bit of a stir when he accused Liverpool of throwing him under the bus. Claiming that his relationship with Arne Slot has completely broken down, it was a remarkable interview.
What happens next, though, remains to be seen. The player is under contract for another year and a half, and Salah's only likely exit route would be to Saudi Arabia. The spell in which he is away at AFCON could prove to be a cooling-off period.
Liverpool dropped its talisman to the bench for the trip to West Ham, and for the two games that followed, he was also left out. The 3-3 draw with Leeds, in which he wasn't brought on, appeared to be the final straw.
Since then, several pundits have given their take on the situation. Jamie Carragher — who was called out by Salah as part of the explosive interview— went on the offensive, while Rio Ferdinand has offered his take too.
Ferdinand, as ever, was keen to put across a rather controversial suggestion. He says that the player's position is essentially untenable after such comments, with the question being where he could go next.
"There’s no way Mo Salah goes to Man United," Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel. "I don’t think he’s got that trait in him that Wazza (Wayne Rooney) or (Carlos) Tevez had, where he goes the extra mile.
"But yeah, I would make an offer, a public one as well! It would be unbelievable, wouldn’t it? It would be a joke. There’s no doubt in my mind that the Liverpool players don’t want Mohamed Salah to leave because he helps them win trophies."
Al Hilal and various other clubs in the Saudi Pro League would be keen to sign Salah if the opportunity arose. The Saudi league's chief executive, Omar Mugharbel, confirmed as much in the wake of the news.
"Salah is welcome in the Saudi League, but it is the clubs that are responsible for negotiating with players," he said. Speaking at the World Football Summit, he added: "For sure, Salah is one of them (a target)."
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It remains to be seen whether or not Salah will return to the Liverpool matchday squad for the visit of Brighton in the Premier League this weekend.
The Egyptian will then be heading to AFCON, where he could miss eight games for his club. Arne Slot hinted that Salah would need to apologize before he could be brought back into the fold.
Liverpool.com says: Salah has struggled this season and made the comments at a time when the team was already under pressure. That made the win over Inter midweek even more important for Slot.
What happens next? It could go either way. Liverpool losing the player in January, though, without the chance for him to say a proper goodbye, would be a sad end to his Anfield career.
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