What did Mohamed Salah say in explosive rant about his situation at Liverpool? ‘Thrown under the bus’, ‘Not acceptable for me’

Liverpool legend Mohamed Salah vented his frustrations out after sitting on the bench for the full match against Leeds that ended in a 3-3 draw, said his relationship with manager Arne Slot has broken down.

Mo Salah (L) sensationally claimed that his relationship with Liverpool manager Arne Slot has now broken down. (Reuters)

In an extradordinary interview to journalists after spending an entire match against Leeds watching on from the bench, Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah has accused the club of not keeping promises made to him when signing a new contract last season, going to the extent of saying he has been ‘thrown under the bus’, made a scapegoat for their woeful run of form. After throwing away a 2-0 and 3-2 lead at Elland Road against Leeds, Liverpool are currently eighth with 22 points from 15 matches, with an extraordinary six defeats already to go with two draws.

While managers and players involved in the match usually give post-match interviews, Salah reportedly chose to speak with a group of journalists in the mixed zone, clearly in a mood to vent his frustrations after being benched for a third straight match, claiming sensationally that his relationship with manager Arne Slot has now broken down. To the extent that it is now non-existent.

Asked what he felt was ‘unbelievable’, Salah started in what turned out to be one long answer: “That I’m sitting on the bench for 90 minutes! The third time on the bench, I think for the first time in my career. I’m very, very disappointed to be fair. I have done so much for this club down the years and especially last season. Now I’m sitting on the bench and I don’t know why. It seems like the club has thrown me under the bus. That’s how I am feeling. I think it is very clear that someone wanted me to get all of the blame.”

“I got a lot of promises in the summer and so far I am in the bench for three games so I can’t say they keep the promise. I said many times before that I had a good relationship with the manager and all of a sudden, we don’t have any relationship. I don’t know why, but it seems to me, how I see it, that someone doesn’t want me in the club. This club, I always support it. My kids will always support it. I love the club so much. I will always do. I called my mum yesterday – you guys didn’t know if I would start or not, but I knew. I said to them, come to the Brighton game [on 13 December]. I don’t know if I am going to play or not, but I am going to enjoy it. In my head, I’m going to enjoy that game because I don’t know what is going to happen now. I will be in Anfield to say goodbye to the fans and go to Africa Cup of Nations. I don’t know what is going to happen when I am there.”

With the AFCON starting soon, Salah has left the door open for a remarkable exit from the club, so soon after producing arguably the best season of his career to led the club to the Premier League title in Slot’s first season. There were plenty of speculations last season too about his future but he eventually put pen to paper on a new deal.

“It is not acceptable for me. I don’t know why this is happening to me. I don’t get it. I think if this was somewhere else, every club would protect its player. How I see it now is like you throw Mo under the bus because he is the problem in the team now. But I don’t think I am the problem. I have done so much for this club. The respect, I want to get. I don’t have to go every day fighting for my position because I earned it. I am not bigger than anyone, but I earned my position. It’s football. It is what it is,” the 33-year-old said.

Does he, then, regret signing that new contract when he could have actually left the club on a high this summer? “Imagine how bad that I have to answer it, honestly. That hurts, even the question hurts. This club, signing for this club, I will never regret it. I thought I’m going to renew here and end my career here, but this is not according to the plan, so I’m not regretting signing for the club for sure,” Salah was quoted as saying by BBC in the full version of the interview, beyond the video that has gone viral on social media since last night.

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He even brought up the names of his Premier League competitor Erling Haaland and former rival Harry Kane as examples of players who have never been put in situation to defend themselves. “I have been at this club, scoring more than anyone in this generation, since I came to the Premier League, I don’t think anyone has scored more goals and made more assists than me. In the whole Premier League. If I am somewhere else, everybody would go to the media and defend the players. I am the only one in this situation. I remember a while go, Harry Kane was not scoring for 10 games, everyone in the media was 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!”