Salah vs Liverpool: Inside the Explosive Rift and the Saudi Power Play Behind It
Mohamed Salah has publicly stated that his relationship with manager Arne Slot has "broken down" and he feels "thrown under the bus," triggering intense speculation that the Saudi Pro League will make a huge bid in January.
Salah's omission from the squad for the Champions League match against Inter Milan confirms the severe breakdown in the relationship between the star and his manager.
The pressure gauge at Anfield has violently snapped from 'Title Defense' to 'Total Crisis,' courtesy of a public, irreparable fracture between Liverpool icon Mohamed Salah and manager Arne Slot. Following a string of poor team results and his own exclusion from key fixtures, Salah detonated an interview that has instantly cast doubt on his immediate future, making a January exit seem not just possible, but highly probable.
The 33-year-old Egyptian, who signed a two-year contract extension in April 2025, has had an unusually tumultuous start to the season, scoring only four Premier League goals in 13 appearances as the reigning league champions stumbled to 10th place in the table. Salah had unusually come into the spotlight on the back of three consecutive benching culminating in an extraordinary, unfiltered post-match interview following a 3-3 draw with Leeds United on Saturday.
But he got straight to the business of exposing the internal schism, revealing that his relationship with manager Arne Slot had "broken down" and that he felt the club had "thrown him under the bus." Salah’s full, devastating quotes to the mixed zone reporters laid bare the depth of the betrayal:
"I'm sitting on the bench for 90 minutes, I think that's the third time... I'm very, very disappointed to be fair. I have done so much for this club down the years... 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 is how I am feeling. I think it is very clear that someone wanted me to get all the blame."
He then added, referring to promises made over the summer:
"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."
The controversy has been met with immediate, high-stakes consequences. Salah was omitted entirely from the squad for Tuesday's Champions League tie against Inter Milan, and manager Arne Slot conceded that he has "no clue" if Salah will play for Liverpool again. This dramatic contradiction between Salah's history and his current status has prompted an immediate, renewed effort from the Saudi Pro League backed by the wealthy Public Investment Fund (PIF) which has declared it will do "whatever it can" to sign the Egyptian star in the January transfer window, potentially on a colossal contract that could reach up to seven times his current salary.
