Liverpool have been advised to offload Mohamed Salah if he fails to imminently apologise. The star was told to “look in the mirror” instead of pointing fingers for his problems.
The Egyptian ace was left out of the Reds’ squad for Tuesday evening’s Champions League win over Inter Milan. Ahead of the match, head coach Arne Slot confirmed that Salah would be absent following his controversial comments over the weekend.
The 33-year-old forward remained on the sidelines during Liverpool’s thrilling 3-3 draw with Leeds United on Saturday, marking his third consecutive match out of the starting XI. Post-match, Salah said he felt he’d been “thrown under the bus” and blamed for the team’s recent downturn.
He also said his relationship with Slot had deteriorated and hinted that Sunday’s match against Brighton could potentially be his last outing in a Liverpool shirt. Ex-Liverpool striker Dean Saunders has now suggested that the club should part ways with Salah in the January transfer window unless he extends an apology to his manager.
The former Wolves and Wrexham boss also insisted Salah should recognise his own dip in form this season before casting blame elsewhere. Speaking on talkSPORT, Saunders said: “Surely him and his agent must have looked at the reaction and seen that not one person has said Mo Salah is right.
“Surely he must be thinking, ‘I’ve upset a load of Liverpool fans,’ to the point where I think they’d be glad if he went. To play for Liverpool is a privilege, whoever you are. I’ve had a look at it and he’s probably earned about £60m in wages in eight years.
“How he can say the club’s throwing him under the bus is beyond me. [He should] look in the mirror and don’t blame everybody else. But his comments were as if he thought, ‘The only way this club’s been doing well is because of me.’
“Unless he apologises in the next couple of days, where it doesn’t look like he’s going to, I’d sell him and get some money back for him.”
Salah is set to join up with Egypt for the Africa Cup of Nations ahead of the transfer window opening. The Reds secured a dramatic late victory at the San Siro without him, after Florian Wirtz earned a spot-kick which Dominik Szoboszlai duly dispatched.
Following the final whistle, Slot faced further questions regarding Salah’s situation, but attempted to redirect attention towards the players who’d actually taken to the pitch against Inter.
He told Prime Video: “I think tonight it should be all about a team like this tonight, against a team like this who are winning and a stadium like this. The focus should be on that tonight.
“You say everyone makes mistakes in life but then it should be does the player think he has made a mistake as well? And then the next question is does this come from me or him?
“The focus tonight should be about Virgil and Ibou Konate, he’s had a few tough moments but was outstanding today against two very good strikers.”
