WAS this the last straw and strop for Mo Salah?
The Liverpool great threw petrol on the flames after Saturday’s furious touchline bust-up with Jurgen Klopp at West Ham.
Salah, who was named as a sub for the second time in a week, rushed off after the 2-2 draw which all but ended Liverpool’s title dream, later insisting: “There’s going to be fire if I speak.”
SunSport exclusively revealed the flare-up came from a snub – Klopp expecting a handshake as the Egyptian prepared to come off the bench but eventually getting just a fist bump.
The German boss refused to discuss the spat but Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher branded Salah “daft” for adding fuel to the public row.
The bust-up is depressing for Reds fans and will also reignite talk over Salah’s Anfield future.
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Salah strops
MO SALAH’s row with Jurgen Klopp was not the first time tensions have run high between the striker and his Liverpool colleagues. Here are five times things got heated with the Egyptian during his Anfield career.
West Ham 2 Liverpool 2 – April 28, 2024
Salah gets into a heated argument with Klopp and throws his arms up in the air after refusing to shake the manager’s hand.
Liverpool 3 Sheffield United 1 – April 4, 2024
Salah shakes his head as he is subbed off during Liverpool’s 3-1 win over the basement club.
Chelsea 1 Liverpool 1 – August 13, 2023
Salah storms off the pitch after being replaced on 77 minutes on the first day of the season.
Brighton 1 Liverpool 1 – November 28, 2020
Salah throws his arms up in the air and barely looks at Klopp after being subbed off. Brighton go on to equalise with a last minute penalty.
Burnley 0 Liverpool 3 – August 31, 2019
Salah gets in a public spat with Sadio Mane after failing to pass to the winger. Team-mate Roberto Firmino says the row had been brewing for some time.
Saturday’s row is not the first time Salah has inflamed tensions with his manager or team-mates.
The forward shook his head when Klopp subbed him at 1-1 against Sheffield United at Anfield earlier this month.
Salah also stormed off the pitch at Chelsea on the opening weekend last August when he was replaced on 77 minutes.
Salah also moaned at Klopp for being subbed at Brighton in 2020.
There was a public spat with team-mate Sadio Mane in 2019 after he did not pass to the winger in a game at Burnley — a row Roberto Firmino later said had been brewing since the previous season.
Carragher hopes both Klopp and Salah can end the season on a high.
Posting on X, Carragher said: “Mo Salah and Jurgen Klopp are both LFC legends. We don’t need to take sides!
“Salah is frustrated and angry with Jurgen that he’s not playing and at that moment didn’t want to fully embrace the boss, Jurgen understandably took exception.
“Mo was daft with his comment in the mixed zone but let’s let them sort it out and enjoy the last few weeks together.”
What they have said about Arne Slot
MATT WADE, head of sporting strategy at Feyenoord
“He is a brilliant communicator, and consultative, but also clear at the same time.
“He is quite cautious, quite introverted, but very rule based and principled, which means everyone knows where they stand.
“And he is not paranoid, which allows freedom for specialists to operate.”
SANDER WESTERVELD, former Liverpool goalkeeper and team-mate of Arne Slot
“When I played with Arne at Sparta, you could see that he would become a coach.
“He was a leader, a No10 midfielder and someone who would change tactics by himself.
“The job he has done at Feyenoord makes him the perfect fit for Liverpool.”
Dutch football journalist MARCEL VAN DER KRAAN
“I’ve followed Feyenoord for 40 years. Not since the days of Johan Cruyff at Ajax in the 1980s has there been a coach so attack-minded in the Dutch league.
“Cruyff only had a few disciples who followed him and one of them was Pep Guardiola.”
Arsenal star REISS NELSON who played 31 games under Slot on loan at Feyenoord
“I felt like Arne Slot is a great manager. He really got me into my rhythm.
“He gave me a lot of opportunities to play and I excelled.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
