Liverpool manager Arne Slott has broken his silence following dramatic claims that Mohamed Salah was “thrown under the bus” by someone within the club.
The Egyptian forward, who was left on the bench for three games in a row, also hinted that his relationship with Slott had broken down. Salah was training with Liverpool ahead of the Champions League match against Inter, but was left out of the traveling squad.
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Asked about Salah’s comments, Slot said: “Only Mo himself can answer the question (whether Salah was referring to Slot being the one who threw Salah under the bus).”
“I can speculate, but I don’t think it’s the right thing to do at this point. We had told him he wouldn’t be traveling with us, so that was our only communication to him.
“Of course, by Saturday we had both talked a lot, sometimes long and sometimes short.”
The Dutch manager said he did not feel their relationship had broken down and added that he was surprised by Salah’s comments.
“He has a right to feel things the way he feels,” Slott said.
He also praised Salah’s professionalism in training and towards his teammates. “Because I think when I stopped playing with him, usually the players didn’t like the manager that much. But he had a lot of respect for my staff and teammates and he was training really hard.”
Explanation of decisions
Slott also discussed why Salah was left out of the starting XI.
“I think we as a team have struggled more and more this season, and already last season, with the game plans that other teams had against us,” he began.
“So I’ve been trying to come up with solutions, because that’s my job. And we’ve tried a lot of things.
“In my opinion, after trying things against Forest and against PSV, we looked very vulnerable… against West Ham, where we won the game, we decided to play with an extra midfielder.
“So we decided to do it again against Sunderland, so we brought him on at half-time, and against Leeds we went with a 5-3-2, but there we decided to play a 4-4-2 diamond…”
Salah himself also expressed his dissatisfaction with the decrease in playing time.
“I couldn’t believe I was sitting on the bench for 90 minutes,” Salah said. “It’s very disappointing. I’ve done a lot for this club over the years, especially last season. It seems like the club has thrown me under the bus.
“That’s how I feel… We used to have a good relationship. Now we don’t. I don’t know why.”
The 33-year-old hinted he may have played his final game for Liverpool, prompting speculation about his future at clubs in Europe, Saudi Arabia and the United States.
Salah will head to the African Cup of Nations after Liverpool face Brighton in the Premier League.
