"If I speak, there will be fire," said Mohamed Salah after what had been a rarity, a Premier League game when he had been benched. That was at West Ham in April 2024, not November 2025. When he did speak, in December 2025, it was incendiary.

Six goals were shared in an astonishing second half at Elland Road, each overshadowed by a rare audience with Salah. The accusations that followed were extraordinary. That Liverpool have thrown under the bus, that someone - who he left unnamed - wants to blame him, that the club has broken promises to him, that his relationship with Arne Slot is non-existent. Salah dropped hints about his future, talking about waving goodbye when he goes to the African Cup of Nations 2025 could be a permanent farewell. It is possible to view a situation that he deemed unacceptable to him now beyond repair for Liverpool.