Mohamed Salah’s fiery interview about being left out of Liverpool’s draw at Leeds United included one line that grabbed everyone’s attention — his claim that he had been “thrown under the bus.”
Salah, now 33, feels he has been unfairly blamed despite everything he has achieved at the club: major trophies, 250 goals, and being third on Liverpool’s all-time scoring list.
His anger came after he was benched for the third Premier League game in a row as head coach Arne Slot tried to stop a terrible run of nine losses in 12 matches.
Salah clearly believes he was made a scapegoat, sparking big arguments among fans at a time when Liverpool needed calm — but is he right?
Salah has the pride and strong personality that many great players have. It’s similar to when Erik ten Hag dropped Cristiano Ronaldo in 2022, leading Ronaldo to say he was “betrayed by the club.” United and Ronaldo later parted ways.
Salah won’t be leaving like that — Liverpool would only let him go for a huge fee, and he just signed a two-year deal in May. But with how upset he is, fixing the relationship won’t be easy.
He even hinted his goodbye might come soon, possibly after Liverpool’s match against Brighton before he heads to the Africa Cup of Nations.
So is Salah right to say someone wants him to take all the blame or doesn’t want him at the club?
This season, Salah hasn’t looked like the same player. Last year he was on fire — 34 goals in 50 starts as Liverpool won the title.
This season: 16 starts, only 5 goals. His age is starting to show.
Some players even targeted his side of the pitch, like Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella, who said Salah was “always ready to attack” and didn’t defend enough.
When he’s scoring loads, it’s fine. But when the goals stop, the weaknesses stand out.
But Salah also has a point: Liverpool’s problems are bigger than him.
He’s missed Trent Alexander-Arnold, who moved to Real Madrid. The two had an incredible partnership that created tons of chances. Last season alone, Trent gave Salah 147 line-breaking passes — more than any other pair in the league.
Others in the team have struggled too:
Konaté has been poor,
Gakpo has offered little on the left,
Wirtz hasn’t made an impact since his £116m move,
Isak has only scored once despite his £125m fee.
Yet Salah is the one who has been benched.
He didn’t mention names, but it’s understandable he feels singled out. His argument does make sense — even if the way he expressed it probably wasn’t the best.
