Mohamed Salah grabbed an assist on his last Liverpool appearance before heading off to the Africa Cup of Nations with speculation growing over his Anfield future
Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones insists everyone at the club still loves Mo Salah, explaining the forward’s recent comments weren’t made with the intention of destabilising the team. Salah hasn’t started for the Reds since November, and voiced his frustration when claiming to have been thrown under the bus after watching from the bench during a 3-3 draw at Leeds.
Salah came off the bench on Saturday as Arne Slot’s Liverpool beat Brighton 2-0. He set up a goal for Hugo Ekitike during his final appearance before joining Egypt for their Africa Cup of Nations campaign in Morocco, and was received warmly by fans when he entered the field.
Whether it ends up being Salah’s final Liverpool game full-stop is a different matter. Speculation over his future has been growing, with reports of interest from Saudi Arabia, the United States and Europe, but Jones has made his feelings about his team-mate clear and shared details on his conversations with the forward – with indications so far suggesting Liverpool remain keen to keep Salah on board.
“We all love Mo. I love Mo,” the midfielder told Viaplay (via the ECHO). “At my hardest times at the club, you know, he was always one of the ones who was there. I could always speak to (him). And it’s exactly the same now.
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“Mo’s his own man, he’s got his own opinions. And, you know, I don’t think his intentions were to affect the team or anything like that. It was just a personal thing. And as everybody knows, the team, the fans, the staff, we all love Mo. He’s a great guy.
“I don’t really like to speak on another man’s issues or his business and stuff – that has to do with Mo. But at the end of the day, I think the important thing that Mo made clear was that it’s not against the team or anything like that, just a personal issue, and that’s it.”
Salah applauded Liverpool’s fans after the match, sparking suggestions from some observers that it was a farewell. However, Slot didn’t necessarily agree.
“I think he wasn’t the only player who walked around the pitch thanking the fans because the fans deserved a thank you from us,” the Dutch manager told reporters, before adding: “Mo is going to go to the AFCON now, I hope he is going to do very well and in the meantime we have to play here without him with not that many players available at the moment.”
When asked about the 33-year-old’s recent comments, he added: “For me, there’s no issue to resolve. For me, he’s now the same as any other player. You talk to your players if you are happy or unhappy with things. But there’s nothing to talk about after what happened against Leeds after the game.”
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Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.
