Salah Axed From Champions League Squad After Explosive Interview, Future at Liverpool in Doubt
In a stunning escalation of tensions at Anfield, Mohamed Salah has been omitted from Liverpool’s traveling squad for Tuesday’s Champions League clash against Inter Milan following his extraordinary public criticism of manager Arne Slot and the club. The 33-year-old forward trained with the team on Monday but will not travel to Italy, as the fallout from his explosive post-match interview after Saturday’s 3-3 draw with Leeds United continues to shake the club.
Salah’s omission comes just two days after he claimed in a fiery media appearance that he had been “thrown under the bus,” admitted he has no relationship with Slot, and suggested this weekend’s home match against Brighton could be his final game at Anfield. While the club has stated he will not face formal disciplinary action, his exclusion from a crucial European fixture signals a clear attempt to defuse the situation by creating distance between the player and the squad during a volatile period.
The squad list released for the trip to Milan underscores the shift, with forwards such as Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, and Hugo Ekitike included in Salah’s absence. Liverpool’s official position is that a brief period away from selection is “in the best interests of everyone,” but the move raises serious questions about whether Salah—one of the club’s greatest-ever players—has already played his last game for the Reds.
How has it come to this for a modern Anfield legend? Salah sits third on Liverpool’s all-time scoring list, behind only Ian Rush and Roger Hunt, and has been instrumental in winning two Premier League titles and a Champions League. Despite being 33 and showing no clear decline, his recent omission from the starting lineup in three consecutive matches has clearly fueled his frustration. With the Africa Cup of Nations approaching and the January transfer window opening shortly after, Salah’s future now appears increasingly uncertain. What began as tactical tension has spiraled into what looks like an irreversible rift—a painfully unworthy exit for a player who defined an era at Liverpool.
