Reports have shed light on how Jurgen Klopp used to handle situations when Liverpool players spoke out publicly — a topic now relevant after Mo Salah’s open criticism of Arne Slot.
Salah triggered shock across the Premier League on Saturday night after venting his frustration in the mixed zone following Liverpool’s dramatic 3-3 draw with Leeds United at Elland Road.
The 33-year-old was left out of the starting lineup for the third match in a row and didn’t feature at all, an extremely rare situation for him. After applauding the travelling supporters, Salah gave a rare interview and used it to express his dissatisfaction.
With the club’s press officer visibly tense, Salah said it “felt like the club had thrown me under the bus” and suggested that he was being singled out for blame. He added that his relationship with manager Arne Slot had essentially broken down, saying the two “don’t have any relationship” anymore.
Despite signing a new two-year contract in the summer after helping Liverpool win the Premier League title, Salah has now been left out of the squad entirely for the Champions League trip to Inter Milan — though it’s unclear if more disciplinary action is coming.
Salah’s relationship with Klopp had generally been strong, aside from one heated touchline argument against West Ham late in Klopp’s tenure. But Klopp was known for being firm when it came to discipline. In an interview on The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett, he described his unusual method of punishing a player who had posted something online in frustration before deleting it.
Klopp said he learned about the deleted post through others and decided to confront the situation head-on.
“I went into the dressing room and said, ‘Something was posted last night and deleted. I know about it — maybe you’d like to tell everyone what it was,’” Klopp recalled.
He explained that he wouldn’t attack the player directly, but would instead encourage them to explain themselves publicly to the team. Klopp described it as a self-inflicted embarrassment that proved effective:
“It’s not nice to put someone in that spot, but it’s a deserved punishment. And after that, nobody ever did it again.”
Salah, who has scored 250 goals for Liverpool, remains under contract until 2027. After next weekend’s match against Brighton, he is expected to be unavailable for an extended period as he prepares to captain Egypt at the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations.
