West Ham star sheds new light on what Jürgen Klopp said to Mohamed Salah in Liverpool argument
Michael Antonio has shed more light on the argument between Mohamed Salah and Jürgen Klopp during Liverpool’s draw with West Ham on Saturday.
The pair clashed as Salah was preparing to come on as a substitute late on in the 2-2 draw at the London Stadium. Having been named on the bench for the second time in three games, the Egyptian’s frustration appeared to spill over.
Salah appeared to be reluctant to shake Klopp’s hand as he made his way from the bench before arguing with the Liverpool boss. Darwin Núñez stepped in to try and calm Salah down, although the 31-year-old continued to remonstrate with his manager.
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Klopp played down the incident after the game, insisting that the matter was "done" after speaking in the dressing room. Salah though raised eyebrows shortly after, telling journalists in the mixed zone: "If I speak today there will be fire.”
A lip-reader has already suggested what Salah said to Klopp during their exchange, based on the footage from the game. Now, West Ham star Antonio has lifted the lid further on what he heard about the interaction.
The forward, who scored the Hammers’ equalizer as Salah waited to take to the pitch, told the Footballer’s Football Podcast: “So basically, this is not inside information, but what I have heard, this is what the boys have been talking about on the training ground.
“As players come on, Klopp usually gives them a big hug, but when Mo came on he walked in a different direction and did his shin pads and stuff. Klopp put his hand out to him and his hand was there for a bit and he just slapped his hand.
“Klopp didn’t like that and was like ‘do you want to sit back down?’, basically saying do you want to go on? And nobody has told me what Mo said back.”
Liverpool.com says: It’s not a great look for Salah. It’s not the first time he’s shown some petulance towards his manager, and he only escalated things with his comments in the mixed zone afterward. The fact he hasn’t moved to clarify what he said hasn’t helped matters either.
Hopefully, the pair have smoothed things out since, and the reports that Salah is set to stay with Liverpool next season suggest he’s at least content at Anfield. It will be interesting to see whether he gets the nod in Klopp’s last three games in charge though, starting against Tottenham this weekend.