No winners in messy Mohamed Salah situation

Liverpool's legendary winger dropped a bombshell on Saturday to create an untenable situation that reflects poorly on player, head coach, and sporting director.

Photo: IMAGO | Anfield Index

Over the years, Mohamed Salah has been famously choosy about when he speaks to reporters in the mixed zone after games.

In his first season at Anfield, the Egyptian delivered on a promise to stop after scoring 40 goals, then also gave a rare interview following victory in the Champions League in 2019.

But he did not stop again until last season, when frustration over difficult contract negotiations led Salah to describe himself as “more out than in”.

In each case, it was easy to understand the player’s motivation, be that reflecting on major achievements or securing a new deal.

Yet when Salah stopped at Elland Road on Sunday to drop a bombshell about his fractured relationship with Arne Slot and doubts over his Liverpool future, it was not clear who benefited.

And that is probably because, in this situation, there are no winners.

In speaking out like this, Salah comes off as prepared to wreck a beautiful relationship with Liverpool after just three games on the sidelines.

And, while the winger’s ego has always been an accepted cost of the quality he has provided on the pitch, on this occasion it seems to have got the better of him.

Ultimately, if he does indeed love the club, then it would probably have been best not to air dirty linen in public, and seek answers behind closed doors rather than hinting at a January departure.

Yet it is also fair to say that Salah’s exasperation is not without some merit, given he does, on the surface, seem to have been singled out by Arne Slot of late.

Hugo Ekitike is the only Liverpool forward to have scored more goals so far this season, but he is also the only one who has consistently produced performances of the required level.

Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz both still have some way to go after big-money summer moves, while Cody Gakpo has provided decent numbers but has not impressed otherwise.

Federico Chiesa and Rio Ngumoha, meanwhile, have been restricted by a lack of minutes.

When that is the case, you wonder why the manager’s focus is on a man who brought the curtain down on the greatest individual campaign in Premier League history a few short months ago, and who he was more than happy to sign up again.

Of course, that point brings us nicely onto those who rubber-stamped that decision, including sporting director Richard Hughes and FSG’s CEO of football Michael Edwards.

If they believe Salah’s recent role is merited, then you imagine they will be keen to shift his £350,000-per-week wages as soon as possible.

And to that end, a war between head coach and player can only prove useful in expediting things.

Yet it would not reflect well on a group we are so often told focuses on rational, data-led decision-making were they to admit to regretting Salah’s new contract so soon.

If they expected a drop-off in performance but believed the 33-year-old would be more open to occasionally riding the bench, then it was a serious misjudgement of a character who has never once given off that impression.

More likely is that Hughes and co were too easily seduced by that unrepeatable 2025-26 campaign, or swayed by fan sentiment in manner they are supposed to be immune to.

Either way, the club’s football executives now find themselves in a situation where they may be forced to pick sides in an unedifying battle between Salah and Slot.

That means making a call on whether to back a player showing all the signs of losing out in the battle against age, or a head coach under whom performances have arguably been on the slide since the back half of last season.

After winning the Premier League last season then spending £450m in the summer that followed, that is not a decision they would have expected to be making.