Liverpool star Mohamed Salah told to apologise as Gary Lineker raises suspicions

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Gary Lineker has claimed Mohamed Salah will "regret" his public criticism of Arne Slot if it ends up tarnishing his relationship with Liverpool and told him to apologise. The 33-year-old was absent from the Reds' commanding 1-0 triumph over Inter Milan at the San Siro.

Following his omission from the travelling squad, Salah posted an enigmatic image of himself working out alone in the gym. His outburst in the mixed zone after Liverpool's 3-3 stalemate with Leeds United at Elland Road has drawn widespread criticism, including an eight-minute dressing-down from Jamie Carragher .

Lineker, however, suspects the striker may have let his feelings overwhelm him after finding himself on the substitutes' bench for the third consecutive fixture. The ex-Match of the Day presenter has urged Salah to patch things up with Slot in order to safeguard his reputation at Anfield.

Speaking on 'The Rest is Football podcast', Lineker said: "I find it a little bit sad. A lot of the footballing world are attacking Mo and I understand why.

"I just hope his legacy is not spoiled. I think he's just got a bit emotional and he got caught out at the wrong time, having not been brought on.

"I wonder if he regrets it now. I saw him post on Instagram of him just in the gym totally on his own. I hope they can find a way out of this.

"Maybe Mo can go 'I'm sorry, I got a bit emotional, I shouldn't have done it,' blah, blah, blah, that might sort it out. Otherwise, what are they going to do at the weekend now? I suspect he'll be out [of the squad] again, because he's got the Africa Cup of Nations.

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"But if they can have a peace conference before he goes, kiss and make up, go away, play the Africa Cup of Nations, come back refreshed, reinvigorated, perhaps slightly apologetic. It'd be awful if it ended kind of miserably, after such a wonderful nine years."

Ahead of the Inter showdown, Slot confessed during his pre-match briefing that Salah's Liverpool future remains uncertain. The Egyptian forward hinted in his mixed zone remarks this weekend's Anfield encounter with Brighton could mark his final appearance in a Reds shirt.

That's assuming Slot is prepared to select him again - which is far from guaranteed. When ex-Real Madrid and AC Milan star Clarence Seedorf urged Slot to extend an olive branch to Salah, noting "everybody makes mistakes in life", Slot responded sharply: "Yeah, but, you say everyone makes mistakes in life? Does the player think he's made a mistake?"

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As Seedorf persisted in encouraging Slot to engage with Salah, the Liverpool manager countered: "I haven't said that I'm not going to talk with him. The next question is: should the initiative come from me or from him?"

This campaign has seen Salah register five goals and three assists across 19 outings in all competitions. His overall Liverpool record stands at an impressive 250 goals and 116 assists from 420 matches.

Only Roger Hunt and Ian Rush have outscored Salah in Liverpool's illustrious goalscoring history. Last year, Salah hit the back of the net 34 times and set up 23 goals in 52 appearances, helping the Reds clinch the Premier League title and reach the League Cup final.

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