A friend and former teammate of Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has revealed he has spoken to the Egyptian about his unhappiness at Anfield.
Normally one to avoid the media, Salah recently sat down with Spanish media to confess he was 'very disappointed' to see Trent Alexander-Arnold named as captain for the recent Champions League tie against Midtjylland, before flirting with the idea of a move to Real Madrid or Barcelona.
The interview has promoted plenty of less than credible reports about Salah 'considering his future', but Egypt legend Mohamed Aboutrika has fuelled the fire by admitting he has spoken to Salah about his problems.
"I called Salah about his situation at Liverpool and he is upset, but that would never affect his performance on the field,” Aboutrika told beIN Sports (via Goal).
"I know that Salah is not happy in Liverpool, he told me the reasons why he is not happy but they are secrets and I cannot talk about it in public. One of the reasons that made Salah angry was that he was not the captain against Midtjylland."
Aboutrika, who was one of Egypt's biggest footballing stars before the rise of Salah, went on to discuss the forward's future at Liverpool, and he even admitted he believes that the Reds are considering selling - a claim which he could not back up with evidence.
"If Salah was a player at Real Madrid or Barcelona, and playing at the same level as Liverpool, he would've won the Ballon d'Or, and it is normal for a Spanish newspaper to ask Salah about Real Madrid and Barcelona,” he added.
"In my opinion, Liverpool are considering selling Salah for economic purposes.
I do not have any influence over Salah's decisions, he is my friend and brother, and he is smart enough to know what is best for him."
There's no reason to suggest Liverpool are actually considering selling Salah, especially if their motivation was purely financial. The Reds may not have had a lot of money to spend in the summer transfer market but are by no means so stricken that they would need to offload one of their team's most important players.
Neither Real nor Barcelona would even be able to muster up an acceptable offer for Salah, who remains under contract until 2023 and would likely command a huge fee. Rumours of an imminent exit may be wide of the mark, but it does seem as though Salah may not be at his happiest right now.
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Source : 90min