One of Salah or Slot WILL leave Liverpool as trusted source reveals true motives for explosive comments

A trusted source has finally spilt the beans behind the exact motives of Mohamed Salah’s incendiary comments over his Liverpool situation, as a protracted move to Saudi Arabia edges closer after a hush-hush meeting with a former teammate.

The Egyptian forward is at the centre of a storm after three successive benchings by Arne Slot came to a head when Salah lit the blue touch paper by publicly complaining about his situation and claiming he has been “thrown under the bus” at Anfield.

In the immediate aftermath of the comments, Liverpool removed the player from their squad to face Inter Milan on Tuesday and sources have since revealed there are serious doubts over whether his selection against Brighton this weekend.

Furthermore, our transfer correspondent, Graeme Bailey, having spoken to people close to Salah’s camp, exclusively revealed earlier this week that Salah could ask Liverpool for a mutual termination of his contract to clear the decks for what’s been described as a ‘mind-blowing move’ to Saudi Arabia.

With a departure for the African Cup of Nations on the cards for next week, and with the possibility of his early exit for the Morocco-staged competition gathering pace, there remains growing doubts over whether Salah will ever be seen in a Liverpool shirt again.

Having also done some digging into the 33-year-old’s situation, The Athletic have backed up our information about the reasons behind Salah’s comments, which arrived after last Saturday’s 3-3 draw at Leeds.

And they report there are two theories floating around over Salah’s true motives behind his comments towards the media in the mixed zone at Elland Road – either it forces his exit at Anfield, or Slot’s!

‘The Athletic has spoken to multiple clubs and agents, including those with direct knowledge of Liverpool, to gauge their views on why Salah behaved like he did last Saturday and where his future might lie,’ they wrote.

‘The general perception is that Salah made his incendiary comments either because he genuinely wants to force a move out of the club or because he wants to put pressure on Slot, whose position was already under scrutiny due to Liverpool’s poor results in their Premier League title defence.’

Off the back of all that, our man Bailey has revealed that Salah is unlikely to apologise for his comments, nor back down, meaning his ongoing exclusion from the squad will likely continue this weekend against Brighton.

The club are likely to put out a communication to that effect later on Friday.

As a result, Salah appears increasingly likely to seal a move to Saudi Arabia sometime in 2026, be that next summer or potentially as soon as January if all parties decide to mutually terminate the £ 400,000-a-week deal he signed at Anfield back in April.

Now, according to The Sun , Salah has taken another step towards that move by meeting in what they describe as a ‘secret London rendezvous’ with his former Reds teammate, Jordan Henderson .

In that meeting, at an upmarket Italian restaurant, it is reported that the pair entered both wearing masks to disguise their identities. But inside, the paper managed to obtain a series of photos of the pair in discussion, where the paper presumes were discussing what life is like in Saudi Arabia.

Henderson, of course, quit Anfield himself to sign for Al-Ettifaq in 2023, though his spell there ended after just five months, when he joined Ajax.

Quoting witnesses, the paper, which must be noted has a very sullied reputation with the city of Liverpool, claims that Henderson, 35, was waxing lyrical and “answering a lot of questions from Mo”.

One source told the paper: “They both came in wearing covid-style masks and had hats covering their faces. They tried to stay under the radar.

“Our mouths dropped when we saw it was Mo and Jordan. The immediate thought was, ‘Salah’s off to Saudi’.”

Another noted: “Mo looked happy as he listened and took it all in; he was asking a lot of questions.”

Trusted reporter David Ornstein has confirmed our information that Saudi Arabia is Salah’s most likely destination, should he depart Liverpool.

And per the reporter, Al-Hilal, Al-Qadsiah and NEOM SC are all expressing interest in a stunning deal for Salah .

Neom have emerged as a surprise suitor, given their newly-acquired Saudi Pro League status after their promotion last season.

However, they are noted as one of Saudi Arabia’s more ambitious clubs, playing in the region of Tabuk, which is close to Egypt and could help them convince Salah to sign.

Other notable players in their squad include Alexandre Lacazette, Said Benrahma and Abdoulaye Doucoure.

Our sources have already revealed that the Saudis are prepared to pay him an eye-watering £150million a year .

Meanwhile, Aston Villa are preparing to send loanee Harvey Elliott back to Liverpool, with Unai Emery’s side set to sign a direct replacement, giving the Reds outcast a shock opportunity to fill the void left by Salah .

Finally, former Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has also spoken out on the situation, revealing the only time Salah was a problem at Liverpool amid his apparent feud with his successor, Slot.