Mo Salah’s Liverpool farewell week has become far more uncomfortable than anyone wanted.
The Egyptian’s Instagram statement after the Aston Villa defeat has split supporters, with some backing his demand for a return to “heavy metal” football and others questioning whether he should have made such a pointed public comment before the final game against Brentford.
Now Sami Mokbel has offered a striking assessment of what may be happening behind the scenes.
Speaking as BBC Sport’s senior football correspondent, Mokbel suggested Salah’s latest comments were not accidental.
He said: “Not for the first time this season, Mohamed Salah seems to have taken a thinly veiled dig at the manager. I think it’s pretty clear to everyone, at least from the outside, that his relationship with Arne Slot is at rock bottom.”
That is a huge claim when we are talking about one of the greatest players in Liverpool history, especially before what should be his Anfield goodbye.
Salah has scored 257 goals for the club, won every major honour and delivered year after year, but this final week is now about far more than his achievements.
Mokbel added: “It just leaves an unsavoury taste in everyone’s mouth heading into the final week of the season.”
That feels like the biggest shame because Liverpool still need to finish the job and secure Champions League football.
Mokbel also explained why he believes Salah knew exactly what he was doing.
He said: “It is calculated because Salah will know Slot is not the flavour of the month at the moment with large sections of the Liverpool supporter base.”
The journalist then added: “On the back of that, Salah has probably sensed an opportunity to apply even more pressure on a guy who he has effectively fallen out with. He’s sensed that opportunity and I think he’s taken it.”
Chris Sutton has already claimed Salah “will have known the damage” his post would do to Slot, which shows how quickly this row has grown.
The uncomfortable truth is that many Liverpool fans agree with Salah’s wider point about standards and identity.
But with Brentford still to come, this is now a farewell week full of tension rather than celebration.
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