Arne Slot says that Liverpool “cannot accept” the kind of comments that Mo Salah made about his current situation at the club.
The Egyptian winger was an unused substitute in their last Champions League outing against PSV Eindhoven, which they lost 4-1. He then came off the bench at halftime of their 2-0 win over West Ham United before remaining on the bench for the 3-3 draw at Leeds United.
Following the latter game on Sunday, Salah told reporters he was “very, very disappointed” to have been dropped from the starting lineup, complained that he had been made a scapegoat for the team’s problems, claimed that someone at the club no longer wanted him there, and said his relations with the manager was non-existent.
Speculation is rife that the 33-year-old, who only signed a new two-year deal in April, could leave Anfield in January. With the player set to link up with Egypt next week ahead of AFCON, this Saturday’s visit of Brighton could be his last opportunity to play for Liverpool after he was left home for Tuesday’s trip to Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League. On Tuesday the player posted a selfie while he was training by himself.
— Mohamed Salah (@MoSalah) December 9, 2025
At his pre-match press conference on Monday evening, Slot said he had “no clue” if Salah would play for the club again, but left the door open for his return to the squad.
In a fresh interview with Amazon Prime Video, Slot was asked if Salah will be involved for Liverpool against the Seagulls this weekend. He replied: “We are here for the Inter game. And I think you can understand that the last two days were already a lot. A lot of things going on, after conceding in the last minute against Leeds.
“Not for the first time this season. Then what happened afterwards. So I think you can understand that my full focus is now on Inter Milan, and we will see what the future is.”
Slot added that the Salah situation is “far from ideal”. “Not good for anyone. First of all, not for the club, not for the team, not for him as well.
“So, far from ideal, but, yeah, we reacted in the way we did not to take him here. And that tells you what we felt about his comments.”
Arne Slot: Liverpool ‘cannot accept’ Mo Salah accusations
Asked if he felt that Salah’s accusation about being thrown under the bus at Liverpool was fair, he responded: “Those are his words, I don’t think it’s up to me to debate what he thinks, what he feels.
“But that’s definitely not what I feel. What in my opinion has happened, is that I didn’t start a player that played many, many, many games for Liverpool and for me. I think we’ve struggled this season, but already in the last part of last season with game plans of the opponent, not only talking about the long ball that most teams use against us.
“So I’ve tried to adapt, adapt, adapt. But after I think it was PSV and Nottingham Forest, where we again looked very vulnerable, I decided to do something else. And that’s what happened, that I did not play Mo against West Ham, did not play against Sunderland, where he came in, and did not play against Leeds.
“But everybody can have his opinion and use his own words about what he thinks about the situation, but it’s also up to us to react to them. If a player uses words we cannot accept.”
On Salah’s claim that he no longer had a relationship with Slot, the manager responded: “You’re going to go one by one with everything he said? It’s okay. For everyone who has been in football… I have been a player. Not at his level, by the way.
“I’ve been a manager now for several years. I think it always works the same as a manager. You like every player you work with if he’s playing or not.
“And as a player, sometimes players that don’t play don’t like their managers as much as they do when he plays. For me, I like Mo just as much as all the other players we have in our team.”
Read – Liverpool to lose out on mega Salah transfer fee as interest rises
See Also – The big Champions League talking points ahead of Matchday 6
