Within the club, Salah remains popular with staff and team-mates – and that goodwill is not expected to expire before he leaves. As for his dealings with FSG, the executive of Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes and Slot, he remains as uncompromising as ever. He sees himself as one of the world game’s elite players and believes he should be treated accordingly.
He and his long-term agent Ramy Abbas are not in any doubt that Salah should remain first choice, and once that no longer became the view of Slot then a collision was inevitable. There was no possibility of Salah staying if he was not a starting XI player. Once his on-field output made that unsustainable it was a matter of time.
Salah fell out with Jürgen Klopp when he was dropped by the former Liverpool coach for the game against West Ham in April 2024. His relationship with Slot, who has now done the same, appears beyond repair. Equally for Liverpool, the prospect of the squad’s highest-paid player being on the bench created a dynamic with which no club could live comfortably.
He is not the first footballer to demonstrate that one-eyed view of the world – it is often the mindset of Salah and leading players like him. Some might argue it is essential to their success.
Notably, there was no one from the club – from ownership to managers to team-mates – mentioned by name by Salah in his departure announcement video. All of it was aimed squarely at the fans. They will have their own views – and the current focus is Slot and his future. Unlike so many of his predecessors, much less those who have been league champions, there is a disillusionment bordering on hostility.