Salah vs Slot: Liverpool Star Breaks Silence After Triple Benching in Explosive Interview

Liverpool forward Mohammed Salah has publicly lifted the lid on the growing tension, as suspected by fans worldwide, between himself and manager Arne Slot.

Mo Salah’s reaction confirms what a lot of fans have feared for weeks now since it seems he has been the scapegoat for Liverpool’s poor run of form and this comes from him being benched for a third consecutive match.

In an interview that he granted moments after Liverpool’s abysmal 3-3 draw with relegation threatened Leeds who came from behind twice, the Egyptian star claims he no longer knows his place at the club and hinted that he believes someone at Liverpool “does not want” him around.

“All of a sudden we don’t have any relationship” — Salah says ties with Slot have collapsed

Salah opened the interview by speaking about the sudden change in the relationship between him and Slot.

He said:

“I had a good relationship with the manager… and all of a sudden, we don’t have any relationship. I don’t know why.”

For Salah, he believes the change was orchestrated by someone as it was unprecedented:

“It seems to me, how I see it, someone does NOT want me at the club.”

The 33 year old has spent 8 years at Merseyside after completing a £36.5m move in June 2017 but during this time he has proven to be an excellent signing even getting into conversations of some of the Premier League’s greats.

Salah claims he’s being blamed: “It’s very clear someone wants me to get all the blame”

It is not even surprising for him to say this as most of the footballing world can see through it that Salah is being singled out to be blamed for Liverpool’s poor form.

The Egyptian winger said:

“It’s very clear that someone wants me to get all the blame.”

Salah also brought to light the fact that Liverpool made promises to him about his future and they seem to not be interested in keeping that promise:

“The club promised in the summer… and so far, I am on the bench for three games. All I can say is: keep the promises.”

While we can’t tell what those promises are, we can remember that

Hinting at goodbye? Salah tells family to attend Brighton match

Perhaps, the saddest part of Salah’s interview was when he said he told his family to attend the game against Brighton as he believed it could be his last.

“I said to my parents: come to the Brighton game. I don’t know if I am going to play or not but I am going to enjoy it.”

After the game with Brighton at Anfield, Mo Salah will be joining his Egyptian compatriots to play in the AFCON and he thinks that could be the moment he says good bye to the fans.

“I will be at Anfield to say goodbye to the fans and go to Africa Cup. I don’t know what is going to happen when I am there.”

These lines have triggered widespread speculations as many fans wonder if that would be the last time they see Salah’s involvement in a Liverpool shirt.

The winger seems to be at the end of the road for himself despite signing a two year contract extension in April 2025.

“If I was somewhere else, the club would defend me” — Salah says he feels unprotected

After scoring 250 goals in 420 appearances and winning 9 trophies in his 8 years at the club, Salah believes he deserves some protection at this point.

“I don’t know why this happened to me. I don’t get it. If I am somewhere else, every club would protect the player.”

“I don’t think I am the problem. I have done so much for this club.”

Salah also referred to his Premier League legacy:

“I have been at this club scoring more than anyone in this generation since I came to the Premier League.”

Salah compares treatment to Harry Kane

This one may not sit well with most of the Tottenham fanbase and the English National Team as Salah compared himself to Harry Kane expecting the same level of protection.

Salah claims that:

“Harry Kane was not scoring for ten games… the media were like: ‘Oh Harry will score for sure.’ When it comes to Mo, everyone is like: he needs to be on the bench.”

“I am sorry Harry!” he joked — though the message was anything but light.

Slot responds: “We have to accept the situation”

Arne Slot hasn’t been silent about his decision to leave Mo Salah out hinting that he needs to find a way for the team to cope without Mo Salah when he leaves for AFCON in a week’s time.

“We have to accept the situation we are in. The short-term future of Mo is he goes to AFCON in a week. We play Inter before that.”

Well, it is expected after all, teams with players attending the biggest tournament in Africa are looking for ways to play without those who would be joining their national teams.

Slot added that in the draw with Leeds, keeping Salah out of the action was because his team was leading and didn’t need more goals but defensive reinforcements:

“We were 2–0 up, 3–2 up. At that moment it was about controlling the game. We didn’t need a goal at that stage. I brought in Endo.”

Clearly, these did not help calm the storm, especially seeing that Liverpool drew the game despite the “defensive reinforcements” that Slot made.

“It hurts… I am thrown under the bus” — Salah on media criticism and internal pressure

Salah was indeed distraught by the happenings over the last two weeks as he said:

“After what I have done for the club it really hurts.”

He believes he is just being made to take the blame as he sees himself as an easy target:

“The way I see it… you throw Mo under the bus because he is the problem in the team now.”

“We throw Mo under the bus because he’s the problem. I don’t think I’m the problem.”

Salah even said he was expecting attacks from Jamie Carragher who has always been critical of him and a few other players on the team:

“Tomorrow Jamie Carragher is going to go for me again and again and again — and that’s fine.”

“It’s NOT acceptable to me” — Salah says he shouldn’t be fighting for his spot daily

Some may disagree but the winger believes he should have his place cemented already claiming:

“It’s NOT acceptable to me. I don’t know why this is happening. I don’t get it.”

“I have done so much for this club. I don’t have to go every day fighting for my position because I earned it.”

What next for Salah and Liverpool?

With AFCON approaching, Salah would be joining Egypt but the uncertainty around his future after AFCON is reaching a breaking point.

Salah insists he still loves the club:

“Liverpool, I will always love this club. My kids always support, I love the club. I will always do.”

But his comments show that he feels the relationship - not just with Arne Slot - but with the club’s current leadership is far from repairable and this may signal and end to his stay at the current PL champions.

Liverpool have not yet issued an official statement.

Slot has maintained his stance that his decisions are tactical and contextual.

Salah’s words tell a very different story.

And now, all eyes turn to the Brighton match — and whether the Anfield crowd will be witnessing a farewell.