Arne Slot denies breakdown of relationship with Mohamed Salah as forward left out of Liverpool squad to face Internazionale after bombshell interview

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Mohamed Salah has not travelled with the rest of the Liverpool squad to face Inter in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. Salah has been kept at home following his explosive interview in the aftermath of Liverpool's 3-3 draw with Leeds United. The 33-year-old claimed the club had "thrown him under the bus" after Arne Slot omitted him from the starting line-up for a third consecutive game.

Slot admits 'surprise' at Salah comments, does not feel their relationship has broken down

Video credit: SNTV

Mohamed Salah has been left out of the Liverpool squad to face Internazionale in the UEFA Champions League, but Reds manager Arne Slot does not feel their relationship had broken down prior to his bombshell interview in which he claimed he had been "thrown under the bus".

Following the pulsating 3-3 draw against Leeds United on Saturday, Salah appeared to open the door to leaving Liverpool after admitting to a breakdown in his relationship with manager Slot, who named the Egyptian on the bench for the third game in a row.

Salah was pictured in training on Monday at Liverpool's AXA Training Centre base in Kirkby, but the Premier League champions made the decision not to include the 33-year-old in their squad travelling to Milan.

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Slot spoke to the media alongside Alisson upon their arrival in Italy on Monday, and felt their relationship was fine.

Mohamed Salah waved at Liverpool supporters at full-time against Leeds

Image credit: Getty Images

Asked if he felt their relationship had broken down, Slot replied: "That’s not the way I feel. But he has the right to feel how he feels things.

"I haven’t felt that at all until Saturday evening, for sure. Because I think, when I didn’t play him anymore, usually players don’t like the manager that much.

"But he was very respectful to my staff members, to his team-mates and he trained really hard, so to an extent it was a surprise for me when I heard after the game that he gave the comments he gave.

"We let him know he’s not travelling with us. That has been the only communication from us to him. Of course, before Saturday the two of us have spoken a lot. Sometimes longer, sometimes shorter."

Despite Salah's absence from the squad, Slot said there was a route back for the forward.

"I'm a firm believer that there is always a return for a player," Slot said. "His reaction to being told he was not going today? It was a short one."

Slot has 'no clue' if Salah has played last game for Liverpool

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Asked if Salah had played his last game for Liverpool, Slot replied: "I have no clue, I cannot answer this question at this moment in time."

Salah suggested he had been thrown under a bus, but Slot was unsure of the meaning.

"I'd have to know what he meant by that," Slot said. "Usually I am calm and polite but it doesn't mean I'm weak. When a player says things like that we have to react as a club. And you can see he is not here."

Salah didn't feature at all in Liverpool's draw at Elland Road, with Slot saying he "needed different players" at the time.

After the game Salah took the rare step of stopping to speak to the media in the mixed zone, using the opportunity to express his dissatisfaction at how he was being treated.

During an astonishing interview, Liverpool’s third-greatest goalscorer said: "[I couldn’t believe] that I’m sitting on the bench for 90 minutes.

"The third time on the bench, I think for the first time in my career. I’m very, very disappointed to be fair. I have done so much for this club down the years and especially last season.

"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 of the blame.

"I got a lot of promises in the summer and so far I am on the bench for three games so I can’t say they keep the promise. 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."

Liverpool all-time leading scorers	Goals
Ian Rush	346
Roger Hunt	285
Mohamed Salah	250

The dramatic late surrender at Leeds means it is now just four wins for Slot's side in their past 15 outings in all competitions, losing nine of them.

Salah was pictured waving to supporters at Elland Road, but his explosive rant now brings into question whether he will have the opportunity to play when Brighton are the visitors to Anfield this weekend in the Premier League.

"This club, I always support it," he continued on Saturday. "My kids will always support it. I love the club so much, I will always do. I called my mum yesterday – you guys didn’t know if I would start or not, but I knew," Salah said.

"Yesterday I said to them, come to the Brighton game. I don’t know if I am going to play or not but I am going to enjoy it. In my head, I’m going to enjoy that game because I don’t know what is going to happen now.

Salah 'not trying to disrespect anyone' with explosive comments - Alisson

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"I will be in Anfield to say goodbye to the fans and go the Africa Cup. I don’t know what is going to happen when I am there."

Salah finished fourth in the 2025 Ballon d’Or voting after scoring 34 goals and assisting 23 last season, but his decline in form has been rapid since signing a new contract in the summer.

He has recorded only four goals and three assists in 19 games while in his most recent 45-minute cameo against Sunderland, he only recorded two shots with an expected goals return of just 0.05.

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