Mohamed Salah and the noise around him was the dominant story of Arne Slot’s second season in charge of Liverpool – and now it seems the Egyptian star has played a part in his downfall.
Liverpool announced the surprise decision to sack Slot on Saturday afternoon after undergoing a review of their disappointing 2025/26 campaign. The club said “change is necessary” after they only managed to finish fifth in the Premier League, 24 points worse off than in Slot’s title-winning debut campaign.
The Reds were a pale imitation of title-winning team, with Salah providing plenty of drama after falling out with Slot mid-season. The 33-year-old was furious to be left on the bench so often and went public in an extraordinary rant to reporters in December.
Slot and Salah made up enough for the club legend to be given a fond farewell at the end of a difficult season, but Salah wasn’t happy to stay quiet and toe the party line. After the 4-2 defeat by Aston Villa, Salah took to social media to voice his unhappiness and his pointed criticism made it clear who he most blamed.
“I want to see Liverpool go back to being the heavy metal attacking team that opponents fear and back to being a team that wins trophies,” Salah wrote in a post on X which has now been viewed over 16 million times. “That is the football I know how to play and that is the identity that needs to be recovered and kept for good.
“It cannot be negotiable and everyone that joins this club should adapt to it. Winning some games here and there is not what Liverpool should be about. All teams win games. Liverpool will always be a club that means a great deal to me and to my family. I want to see it succeed for long after I have moved on.”
You didn’t have to read between the lines much to work out what Salah wanted: a return to the Jurgen Klopp days. Slot’s more conservative style of play was forgiven when he was winning the title after succeeding Klopp, but it is clear that it is no longer deemed acceptable.
View 2 ImagesMohamed Salah’s final game at Liverpool also turned out to be Arne Slot’s(Image: Getty)
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“We have collectively come to the conclusion that change is necessary in order for the club to keep moving forward. Again, it must be stressed that this is not a decision which has been reached lightly, anything but,” Liverpool’s lengthy statement read.
It added: “The conclusion we have come to is built on a belief that the team’s trajectory is best addressed through a change of direction. That does not diminish the work Arne has done here, or the respect we have for him. Nor is it a reflection of his talents. Rather, it is indicative of the need for a different approach.
“Arne leaves with our gratitude, with a Premier League title to his name, and with the knowledge that he and his family will always be welcomed back at Anfield.”
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It is understood that Salah’s feelings were shared by others in the Liverpool dressing room. Even weeks before leaving the club, his voice carries significant weight and it seems he played a role in Slot’s demise.
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