MILAN — Arne Slot said Monday he was “surprised” by Mohamed Salah interview following Liverpool’s 3-3 draw with Leeds United and said he does not know if the forward has played his final game for the club.
Sources told ESPN Liverpool have temporarily removed Salah from selection following an explosive interview in which he took aim at the club and claimed his relationship with Slot had broken down.
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Salah was not included in Liverpool’s squad for their Champions League match against Internazionale on Tuesday.
Slot said he told Salah he would not be travelling to Milan in a “short” conversation on Monday. Asked whether he believes Salah has played his final game for the club, the Dutch coach said: “I have no clue. I cannot answer that question at this point in time.
“I am a firm believer that there is always a possibility to return for a player. But that is not…I can leave it with that I think.”
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Salah vented his frustrations at having been left on the bench for the duration of Liverpool’s clash at Elland Road and saying he had been made the scapegoat at Anfield amid a stuttering start to the club’s Premier League title defense.
Reflecting on those comments, Slot said Monday: “The only one who can answer that is Mo himself. I can guess, but I don’t think that is the right thing to do. It’s hard for me to tell who he means.
“We have let him know that he is not travelling with us. That was the only communication from us to him. Of course, before Saturday, the two of us have spoken a lot, sometimes longer, sometimes shorter.”
It is unclear whether Salah will be considered for selection for Liverpool’s Premier League game against Brighton — a fixture that would be his last game for the club before departing for the Africa Cup of Nations.
For his part, Slot was noncommittal.
“I think we are sitting here on an evening before a big game for us,” Slot said. “There is only 36 hours between now and the moment we conceded to make it 3-3 at Leeds. You can understand that I’ve tried to prepare my team in the best possible way for tomorrow [against Inter]. Most of my thoughts are about tomorrow.
“In the meantime, we decided not to bring with us to this game and then after tomorrow we will look at the situation again.”
Salah, who has just four goals in 13 Premier League appearances this season, trained with the first team at the AXA Training Centre on Monday morning, however the club made the decision to leave him out of the travelling party for Tuesday night’s match at the San Siro.
Sources told ESPN the decision was taken in consultation with Slot and with the manager’s full support. Slot added he did not feel that the relationship with Salah had broken down.
“That is not the way I feel, but he has the right to feel how he feels things,” Slot said. “I haven’t felt that at all until Saturday evening for sure. When I didn’t play him anymore, usually players don’t like the manager then that much, but he was really respectful to his teammates and my staff members. He trained really hard, so to an extent it was a surprise to me when I heard the comments he gave after the game.
“But it is not the first or the last time when a player doesn’t play he says something like that. My reaction to that is clear and that he is not here tonight.”
Given the nature and timing of the player’s public comments, there is a belief that a period away from the squad is in the best interests of all parties, though Salah will not face disciplinary action.
