Liverpool head coach Arne Slot said he was taken aback 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 with Salah since the weekend interview was a brief call to tell him he would not travel to Milan for Tuesday’s Champions League tie with Inter. Salah has been omitted from Liverpool’s matchday squad for three games.
Slot said he had not perceived any rupture in their relationship until he heard Salah’s remarks. “It was a surprise to me when I heard he gave the comments he gave,” he said, noting he had spoken with Salah “a lot” in the week leading up to the interview. Slot declined to confirm whether Salah might be considered for Saturday’s Premier League game with Brighton until after the Inter match, but added: “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 said: “I have no clue, I cannot answer that question in this moment in time.” On specific complaints raised by Salah — including feeling “thrown under the bus” — Slot said only the player could clarify who or what he was referring to. He acknowledged he had not had a detailed conversation with Salah since the Leeds match.
Slot reiterated that the club’s immediate response to Salah’s public comments was to leave 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,” he said.
The coach defended his authority and insisted his focus is entirely 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 said, explaining selection choices in terms of tactical adjustments and attempts to address problems the side has faced this season. He outlined why other attacking options have sometimes been preferred.
Asked whether he could have prevented Salah speaking out, Slot said that would depend on understanding the player’s motivations. “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 said. 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.”
Reaction across the game has been strong. Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher described Salah’s interview as “a disgrace” on Monday Night Football, suggesting the comments may have been coordinated with the player’s agent and questioning whether Salah will play for the club again. Sky Sports called the situation a potentially seismic “me vs him” moment, noting Salah appears determined to play but it is unclear whether that can happen at Liverpool. The broadcasters observed 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 confirmed he had spoken to Salah twice in the week before Leeds — once at length and once briefly — and that the only communication since was the short message informing him he would not travel to Milan. He said the club’s priority remains the team and the staff affected by results and the current situation, with further decisions to be considered after the Inter fixture.