Liverpool head coach Arne Slot said he was “surprised” by Mohamed Salah’s claim that their relationship had “broken down” and suggested the forward’s future at the club is uncertain.
Slot revealed the only contact since Salah’s weekend interview was to inform him he would not travel to Milan for Tuesday’s Champions League game with Inter. “A short one,” Slot described that exchange. Salah has been left out of Liverpool’s matchday squad for three games.
Slot said he had not perceived a breakdown in the relationship until hearing Salah’s comments. “It was a surprise to me when I heard he gave the comments he gave,” he said, adding he had spoken with Salah “a lot” before the interview. Slot refused to confirm whether Salah could be in contention for Saturday’s Premier League game with Brighton until after the Inter match, but said: “I’m a firm believer there’s always a possibility to return for a player.”
Pressed on whether Salah had played his final game for Liverpool, Slot answered: “I have no clue, I cannot answer that question in this moment in time.”
On specific points raised by Salah — including feeling “thrown under the bus” — Slot said only Salah could clarify who or what he meant. “It is hard for me to tell,” he said, and acknowledged he had not had a detailed conversation since Leeds. He reiterated that the club reacted to Salah’s public comments by leaving him out of the squad: “If a player has these comments about so many things, it is about us as a club to react and we reacted in a way, you can see, he is not here.”
Slot defended his authority and focus on the team: “I don’t feel my authority is undermined… The focus I have is completely on the team and not me at all.” He explained selection decisions, noting tactical adjustments and attempts to solve problems the team has faced this season, and detailed why he has sometimes preferred other attacking setups.
When asked if he could have done anything differently to prevent Salah speaking out, Slot said he’d need to know the motivations behind Salah’s comments: “Is it not only because he doesn’t play? Is it about me not playing him? What could I do differently? Playing him. Maybe that is not the reason he thinks and feels this way.” He added: “He has every right to feel what he feels but he doesn’t have the right to share it with the media. He has that right but then it is up to us to react on it.”
Reactions across the game have been strong. Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher called Salah’s interview “a disgrace” on Monday Night Football, suggesting the outburst could have been planned with his agent and questioning whether Salah will play for the club again. Sky Sports analysis described the situation as a potentially seismic “me vs him” moment, observing Salah appears determined to play but it is unclear whether that can happen at Liverpool. The piece noted Saturday’s game against Brighton — Salah’s last before the Africa Cup of Nations — could “feasibly be his Anfield farewell” depending on how events unfold.
Slot reiterated he had spoken to Salah twice in the week before the Leeds game, once longer and once shorter, but since then the only communication was telling him he would not travel to Milan. He said the club’s priority is the team and staff affected by results and the current situation, and that further decisions would be considered after the Inter match.