Mo Salah: Liverpool future uncertain following Afcon disappointment
There were no tears from Mohamed Salah when the final whistle blew as Egypt fell in the semi-finals in Tangier. It was just a small smile, but it undoubtedly hid a great deal of disappointment.
The Egyptian team failed once again at the AFCON, losing once again to Senegal and Salah’s former Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane.
33-year-old Salah scored four goals in five matches in Morocco and took his country to the semi-finals.
After their quarter-final win against Ivory Coast, Salah described it as the “best camp” he had ever experienced.
“We are all close, we love each other, we hang out together, have an incredible sense of humor and work hard both on and off the field,” Salah said.
Salah is expected to return to Merseyside, where uncertainty remains about his future, after the third-place play-off against Nigeria in Casablanca on Saturday.
Salah last played for Liverpool on November 26 in the Champions League against PSV, where Arne Slot’s team lost 4-1.
Since then Liverpool have gone 11 games unbeaten (W6, D5), but performances have been called into question with Slot admitting last week that he “completely disagreed” with suggestions that Liverpool football was “dull and boring” at the time.
It’s also been more than a month since Salah gave an explosive mixed-zone interview in Leeds; where he accused Liverpool of “throwing him under the bus” after he was benched for three consecutive matches and claimed his relationship with Slot had soured.
He was subsequently excluded from Liverpool’s trip to Inter Milan but was not fined, and returned to the squad against Brighton a few days later, coming off the bench when Joe Gomez was injured in the first half.
Salah bagged an assist in the second half and was warmly welcomed by the Anfield fans, who then applauded from around the pitch as they serenaded the “King of Egypt” with his familiar song. This was his last appearance before joining the national team.
Slot insisted that Curtis Jones was “not a problem that needs to be solved” and also revealed that Salah had apologized to his team-mates for the negativity in his interview.
Liverpool have not lost a game in his absence, although they have lost striker Alexander Isak until at least March with a lower leg injury, while defender Conor Bradley will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.
