That impeccable sense of timing has long defined Mohamed Salah’s career, helping propel the Egypt international to the top of world football and cementing his place over the past eight-and-a-half years as one of Liverpool’s modern greats.

It is that same awareness that appears to have shaped his latest comments, with Salah seemingly fully conscious of the reaction he would spark by telling reporters he had been “thrown under the bus” by his club amid their difficult recent run of results.

Someone wants me to get all the blame

he said in a seven-and-a-half-minute interview at Elland Road on Saturday night.

Salah’s words were direct but delivered with the restraint of a player who has rarely spoken publicly, yet has almost always chosen his moments carefully.

[The] club promised me a lot in the summer. Now I’m on the bench, so I can say they haven’t kept those promises. I used to have a good relationship [with Arne Slot]. Now we don’t have any relationship, and I don’t know why. [It] seems like someone does not want me in the club.

Liverpool’s 3-3 draw with newly promoted Leeds United a match in which the Reds twice surrendered their lead should have dominated the postmatch agenda. Yet the headlines were shaped instead by Salah, who watched the entire game from the bench. That he continues to command such attention is a reminder that Salah is no ordinary player, and these are no ordinary circumstances.

It is less than eight months since Salah and head coach Arne Slot celebrated Liverpool’s Premier League title together at Anfield, a moment that marked the high point of both men’s careers. At the time, Salah had just signed a lucrative two-year contract extension following a season in which he scored 34 goals in all competitions and collected multiple individual honors, including the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award.

Now, with Liverpool’s title defense faltering, relations between the forward and his manager appear to have deteriorated rapidly. Last season, Salah praised Slot’s willingness to free him from defensive duties—something he said helped unlock his best form. As recently as February, his agent Ramy Abbas Issa publicly praised the Dutch coach, calling him “excellent at his job.”

But Liverpool have won only four of their last 15 matches in all competitions, and Salah has no intention of becoming the convenient scapegoat for a wider collapse.

I don’t know if someone wants me out

Salah said.

Don’t put words in my mouth, please. It’s just how it feels. I asked, but I don’t see an explanation. I knew I wasn’t going to play [against Leeds]. It’s just take it and swallow it. Arne told me yesterday. I had a meeting yesterday. He knows my feelings.

Less than a week earlier, Slot praised Salah’s professionalism after benching him against West Ham, saying the forward had handled his disappointment maturely. It was Salah’s first league game on the bench since April 2024, when he clashed on the touchline with then-manager Jürgen Klopp.

If I speak, there will be fire

Salah said after that incident an acknowledgment that even a brief comment from him can escalate into major headlines.

He responded at the time by starting 53 consecutive league matches and breaking several more club records.

What happens next is now uncertain. After Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Nuno Espírito Santo’s side last Sunday, Slot again chose not to start Salah against Sunderland or Leeds, and he was unused entirely in the latter match. Liverpool dropped points in both games a detail some supporters will undoubtedly connect to Salah’s absence.

Although Salah’s form has dipped five goals in 18 appearances he is far from Liverpool’s only issue. Yet his comments have added heat to an already volatile moment.

Salah told reporters he has asked his family to fly to Merseyside for next weekend’s match against Brighton & Hove Albion a game expected to be his last before departing for Morocco for the Africa Cup of Nations. After this dramatic weekend, it could prove to be his final appearance for Liverpool altogether, with speculation about a January exit growing.

His remarks felt, to some, like an ultimatum directed at the club’s leadership. Liverpool’s hierarchy must now decide how to navigate a dispute involving their third-highest goalscorer and the manager who recently delivered a league title.

Slot is already under pressure on Merseyside, adding complexity for sporting director Richard Hughes and owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG). In Leeds, Liverpool again showed the physical and psychological vulnerabilities that have plagued them all season, passing up a chance to draw level with fourth-place Chelsea.

One source told ESPN that Liverpool’s Champions League defeat to PSV Eindhoven last month was a “breaking-point moment” for some inside the club, raising concerns that had not surfaced earlier in the season.

Still, Liverpool have never been a club prone to reactive dismissals, and there is recognition internally that the team’s slump does not lie solely at Slot’s door. It is unlikely that stance will change because a player even one as beloved as Salah has chosen to voice his frustrations publicly.

Salah’s candor will ignite strong emotions among fans who have celebrated him for nearly a decade as their “Egyptian King.” Others may see the outburst as the act of a veteran player determined to maintain the standards he has upheld throughout his Liverpool career.

It is only the fourth time Salah has spoken to written media after a match, the previous being in November 2024, when he said he was “more out than in” regarding a contract extension. Those comments eventually preceded a new deal. This time, however, his words may steer events in a very different direction.