Mohamed Salah brutally reminded that he isn’t Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo after 'tricking himself' into believing he's 'untouchable' - with 'solution' to Liverpool rant drama delivered

Salah’s stunning comments came after being named among the substitutes by Reds boss Arne Slot for a third successive game. He failed to make the starting XI against West Ham and Sunderland, before seeing no game time again in a thrilling 3-3 draw at Leeds.

The 33-year-old, who only signed a contract extension at Anfield over the summer, chose to air his frustration in public after being forced to watch on from the sidelines as Liverpool allowed two more points to slip on a dramatic evening at Elland Road.

He has hinted at making a January move away from Merseyside, admitting to having no working relationship with Slot, with it suggested that he has become an unfortunate scapegoat for the Reds’ struggles this season. The comments have been met with widespread criticism, with Salah being informed that nobody is bigger than Liverpool Football Club.

Stan Collymore, who once represented the Reds, has posted on social media after seeing Salah air his grievances very publicly: “I think I know a little about LFC, its supporters and how they view their club. Shaped of course by [Bill] Shankly then [Bob] Paisley, Kenny [Dalglish], Jurgen [Klopp] and now Slot. One thing remains constant, perhaps more than any other English club, it's always the club first and last, players and managers add their DNA to the club, but the club trumps the individual.

“Now, Mo Salah has left plenty of winners DNA at Anfield and has taken his place in the pantheon of greats. So it's interesting to see his interview, dropping a grenade into the club because if I know Liverpool and it's supporters at all (I think there may be even a generational difference in responses, younger supporting the grenade, older shaking their heads) then their first reaction will be - Club, first and last, don't care who it is. It's a living and breathing mantra and one that even Mo Salah will find it difficult to duke it out against.

“Now, could Arne Slot be less pally with players than Jurgen? Absolutely, he's a calm, relaxed, tad detached guy who (if you remember) was unimpressed with Trent [Alexander-Arnold] early doors and showed a nonchalant attitude in season one to ‘one of their own’ who'd won everything there is to win. I think that's impressive, but not as impressive as winning the title in your first season. So he's earned his respect too.

“The team are playing well in spurts, comedy defending and decision making at other times. That includes everyone, and if you ask 99.9% of players if they'd accept 2 or 3 games on the bench for not hitting levels, all will say yes. Only in the madness of 2025 modern football would the cult of personalities not only question a reasonable conclusion of 'you're not playing well, here's a spell on the bench', but Mo maybe has almost tricked himself onto elevating himself to the untouchable status of Messi or Ronaldo, players who could, if they chose, literally do and say as they pleased in the last decade. Mo isn't them, and Liverpool as I said, isn't that club either.”

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Collymore went on to say of how Liverpool can fix an unfortunate situation that nobody saw coming: “The solution to what is now a very open sore is simple (ish) 1. Player and manager talk privately. 2. Manager tells player what he wants from the player. 3. Player commits or tells manager he wants out. 4. If player wants out, make it happen quickly. If not, pick the player and let him be judged by his continued performances. If they're poor, manager can't lose, ‘I told you so’. If they're great, manager can't lose. So Slot playing Mo is a very good starting point, especially as 2 very big signings have yet to make Mo ‘yesterday's man’.

“Arne Slot can help himself a little by using his natural openness to say ‘maybe I'm not Jurgen but I love my players and they couldn't have won a spectacular title last season without reacting to me and my methods a little too, but I hear Mo's comments and I can tell you all now, I love him to bits and he's ours to keep’. That heads off any ‘seniors’ with similar grenades to throw.

“But one thing's for sure, I don't think there will ever be a Liverpool player past, present or future with valid gripes that would jeopardise the ‘club first and last’ ethos of Liverpool, and those who've had legitimate concerns I'm sure aired them at an appropriate time, not a flash interview when emotions are high. Liverpool FC have done as well for every player who's played for them as players have done for the club, so the institution has earned that private, rather than public critique. Whoever that's from.”

Liverpool are currently in the process of deciding what to do next with Salah, with it possible that he will face punishment for speaking out against the club. Questions will also continue to be asked of his long-term future.

He is due to represent Egypt at the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations, with another transfer window opening during that tournament. There has been talk of renewed interest from the Saudi Pro League, with big-spending teams there ready to offer Salah starting berths and a clean slate if professional bridges at Anfield prove to be beyond repair.