Mohamed Salah news live: Liverpool drop star from Champions League squad after explosive interview

Mohamed Salah has been dropped from Liverpool’s squad for their Champions League game at Inter Milan following his bombshell interview and criticism of head coach Arne Slot on Saturday night.Salah accused Liverpool of throwing him “under the bus” and claimed his relationship with head coach Slot had broken down after he was benched for the third successive game ahead of the match against Leeds at Elland Road.The 33-year-old trained with his team-mates earlier on Monday and appeared to be in good spirits as Slot watched on – but he has been omitted from the squad that will travel to Italy this afternoon.

Liverpool travelling squad: Alisson, Gomez, Van Dijk, Konate, Kerkez, Wirtz, Szoboszlai, Isak, Mac Allister, Bradley, Jones, Ekitike, Mamardashvili, Robertson, Woodman, Gravenberch, Nyoni, Ngumoha, Lucky.

Independent readers have reacted with shock and disbelief after Mohamed Salah accused Liverpool of “throwing him under the bus” and making him a scapegoat for the team’s poor form.

The Egyptian, who has been benched by Arne Slot for the last three games, said he no longer has a relationship with the manager and accused the club of breaking promises made to him.

Salah indicated he could be leaving Liverpool after the African Cup of Nations, with next weekend’s Brighton game potentially serving as his farewell.

Readers were divided by his comments. Some expressed sympathy for Salah, highlighting his 250 career goals and record-equalling 47 goal involvements last season, and criticised Liverpool for sidelining a player of his calibre.

Others argued that age and form inevitably affect a player’s starting place – and that no individual, no matter their previous contributions, is bigger than the team.

More criticism around Salah’s comments here, with former Spurs defender Stephen Kelly saying the following on BBC:

“It kind of feels like a power play.

“Either [Mohamed Salah] wants to go and he feels this is the way to get it – which is a strange situation – or else he’s just completely self-centred, which I think may be the case.

“Strikers have to have a bit of selfishness about them. On the pitch, when it works, it’s fine – you’re scoring goals.

“But he said he’s been thrown under the bus – if anything, he’s thrown the team under the bus. His comments have caused carnage in what what is already a really tough situation for Liverpool.

“There’s a lot going on behind the scenes at Liverpool, it’s hard to understand what is going on in that camp.

“For one of your star players not only to be failing to perform on the pitch but to be saying things like this off the pitch – it’s really hard to reconcile. I’m not sure how to get back from this,” he added.

In case you missed what Salah said on Saturday, you can find every word of the explosive interview right here…

The Egyptian, who has lost his place in the Liverpool team, said he doesn’t have a relationship with Slot any more as he accused the club of breaking their promises to him.

Could the answer to the Salah replacement question already be sitting in the Liverpool squad? Recent matches have seen Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai feature on the right for the Reds, with each scoring in respective games against West Ham and Leeds. Summer signing Hugo Ekitike could arguably feature there despite previously playing mainly as a striker and occasionally on the left.

While none of those three options feels like a longer-term solution on the right, it could well be enough to help Slot deal with the problem until the summer if Salah does indeed depart Anfield sooner rather than later.

Mohamed Salah drew comparisons to fellow Premier League great Harry Kane to prove how his drop in form has been treated differently to any patch of adversity experienced by the England captain.

At the opposite end of the spectrum to Olise or Gordon, Liverpool could choose to go for an as-yet-unproven talent as their next wing option. RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande only joined the club earlier this year but he has a developing reputation as one of Europe’s most exciting up-and-coming forward talents, with the 19-year-old’s recent hat-trick against Eintracht Frankfurt showing an impressive range of finishing and attacking prowess.

While a promising talent who could be available for far less than other wing options, it feels unlikely that Liverpool would directly replace someone as important as Salah witha youngster who has featured for Leipzig just 15 times since joining.

There hasn’t been an awful lot of support for Salah’s comments from ex-players, with former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy saying the following on BBC:

“You can be emotional, angry and frustrated but you have to keep it in the four walls of the club.

“Knock on the manager’s door, go and see the owners, do whatever you have to do, express your frustration.

“By doing this, he’s causing the team a problem and the manager a problem and he’s making it all about him.

“You can’t do it. Whether you agree with him being left out or not – you don’t deal with it like this.

It’s an emotional response, it doesn’t really stack up. Everyone has to keep fighting for their place and performing at a certain level. I don’t think he’s on his own,” he added.

Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon is an interesting option for Liverpool, not least because he was previously a target for the Reds as recently as the summer of 2024. A much-publicised pursuit of the England man saw Liverpool turn down a part-exchange deal also featuring Jarell Quansah, and Gordon subsequently signed a new contract at St James’ Park.

Liverpool never re-ignited their interest for the boyhood Reds fan last summer though – perhaps due to that new contract – and while Gordon fits the bill for the type of winger who has succeeded at Anfield in recent years, is likely that Newcastle would demand a vast sum for the 24-year-old.

Bayern Munich forward Michael Olise has established himself as one of the finest wingers in Europe, with the Frenchman having notched up 29 goals and 36 assists since arriving in Bavaria from Crystal Palace.

Olise is likely to emerge as a target for any top club targeting a winger, with rumours recently linking him with a move to Manchester City and Arsenal as well as Liverpool.

While it is not known for sure what sort of price Bayern would demand – and they may not even be willing to consider the move – his previous Premier League pedigree would be seen as a huge positive, if Liverpool are willing to pay another large fee.