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Mohamed Salah’s outburst at the weekend was shocking, not necessarily for the way in which he attacked Liverpool, but for the manner in which he called out Arne Slot.
Having revealed that his relationship with the Reds’ head coach has broken down after being named on the bench for three games in a row, the 33-year-old’s future at Anfield looks to be in serious doubt, with the possibility that he has already played his last game for the club.
The reaction from Slot and Liverpool has been fairly measured, with Salah left out of the squad traveling for Tuesday's Champions League game against Inter Milan. His future beyond that is not yet decided, although it’s hard to imagine how the relationship between the player and his boss can be repaired now.
It is hard to believe that it has reached this point, just a matter of months after Liverpool was crowned Premier League champion, and Salah was putting pen to paper on a new two-year deal.
The Egyptian was glowing in his view on Slot in the immediate aftermath of that title triumph, with the Liverpool boss having got the best out of him by freeing him of his defensive responsibilities, resulting in one of the finest individual seasons seen from any player.
And it wasn’t just the player who was complimentary, but his agent as well.
Ramy Abbas is a name that has become very familiar to Liverpool fans over recent years, and not always for positive reasons, but his review of Slot earlier this year seemed to indicate just how highly both he and Salah rated the Reds’ head coach.
Responding to a post on X in February that featured a picture of Slot as Liverpool pulled seven points clear of Arsenal in the title race, Salah’s agent said: “Excellent at his job.”
The simple four-word message cannot be underestimated. Abbas has not been shy of voicing his opinion over the years, often getting himself into spats with the likes of Jamie Carragher over his comments on Liverpool and his client.
For him to publicly praise Slot - less than a year after Salah’s falling out with Jurgen Klopp, remember - showed just how good the relationship was between player and head coach, and almost seemed to show that a new contract was a foregone conclusion.
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Less than nine months later though, that relationship now looks to have sunk. Interestingly, Abbas has not yet commented after Salah’s outburst - whether that’s a good sign or not, only time will tell.
But Salah’s comments can’t be seen as anything other than him giving an ultimatum to Liverpool over his and Slot’s futures. Essentially, he has told the powers that be at Anfield it’s either him or me.
For now, it’s Slot that looks to be getting the backing from the club. What that means for Salah’s future, we may soon find out.
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