It wasn't entirely out of character for the 'Egyptian King', for he'd done much the same around the time of new contract talks, which were successfully concluded back in April.
An ill-timed outburst from Salah
On this occasion, however, his outburst could be considered to have been very ill-timed.
Just five goals in all competitions since the start of the season is nowhere near the form of his previous seasons at the club, and strong rumours from the Saudi Pro League suggest that Al Hilal are still willing to invest significant sums of money to take Salah to the Middle East.
The player even had discussions with Saudi representatives before ultimately committing himself to the Reds for two more seasons.
"My relations with SPL officials are very good, we talked a lot, and the negotiations were serious," he was recently quoted as saying.
"It was a good opportunity for me; if I hadn’t renewed with Liverpool, it would have happened."
Read more: Coming days crucial for Salah's situation
Time for Liverpool to cash in?
At 33 years of age, and having been left out of the Reds' squad to face Internazionale in the Champions League, there's a belief that Salah might well have already played his last game for the club.
He is soon to go off to the Africa Cup of Nations, and with the January transfer window just around the corner, there's a cogent argument to be made as to this being the perfect time for Liverpool to cash in.
Would they actually be cutting their noses off to spite their faces in so doing, however?
Goals have clearly been a problem, but what about the rest of his game? Has Salah really fallen so woefully short in the space of a few months that there is serious and genuine consideration being given to cutting ties with the player?
Unforgivable lack of effort
In the 13 games he's played in the 2025/26 Premier League campaign, he's only won possession back in the defensive third on 10 separate occasions - less than once per game - but has lost it an incredible 234 times.
For a team that relies on control of the ball in matches, that's unforgivable.
In terms of taking on his direct opponent, 38 of his 48 take-ons have been in the opposition half, but only eight have been in the penalty box, and just two of them have ended with a chance being created.
Three have ended with Salah taking a shot at goal, but that still isn't good enough for a player of his stature.
167 of his 234 attempted passes into the final third of the opposition half have found their target, giving him a healthy 71.4% completion rate in this regard, but he's played 79 forward passes in total.
Furthermore, of his 94 progressive carries, Salah only managed to create a chance from eight of them.
No more dynamism
Having four successful crosses in open play from 37 attempts is another damning statistic for the 33-year-old, but the roll call of underperformance doesn't end there either.
So far, he's managed a shot conversion rate of just 19.1%.
His 10 shots on target in those 13 English top-flight matches (all from inside the box) came from 91 touches in the opposition penalty area.
Two tackles won from two attempted and two interceptions made isn't something to write home about, whilst completing only one in four dribbles - 47 attempted, 11 successful - is enough of a sign too that he no longer has the dynamism that once underscored his performances.
Perhaps age has wearied him in that respect, and at 33, that would be perfectly understandable; however, by falling short in other areas too, Salah doesn't really have a leg to stand on if he wants to base his inclusion in Slot's starting XIs on his form during 25/26.
Wake-up call
When a player of such stature is struggling so badly, it's a big wake-up call, and Salah can take his frustrations out on others all he likes, but the numbers don't lie.
Whether or not the new striker signing, Alexander Isak, has also not met expectations misses the point entirely.
If the club are investing well over £100m on a player, it's blindingly obvious they're going to - at least in the interim - help him through a bad spot of form.
In time, that may change, but for now, the Swedish international has the relative comfort of knowing he's being backed.
Salah won't be afforded the same courtesy for the simple reason that he's been at the club for years, knows how the team plays and his role within it, and he hasn't held up his end of the bargain.
Dropping him was always going to be a contentious decision, but when all the noise has died down, the numbers will show that he doesn't deserve a starting spot at the moment.
Therefore, whether he leaves or not is unlikely to make too much difference at this point.
