Fresh twist at Liverpool as 'Real Madrid prepare approach' amid Mohamed Salah saga

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Evening Standard

·9 December 2025

Fresh twist at Liverpool as 'Real Madrid prepare approach' amid Mohamed Salah saga

Xabi Alonso is under pressure, prompting the Spanish giants to reportedly look elsewhere

The turmoil at Liverpool has taken another twist as the fallout from Mohamed Salah's bombshell interview continues.

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Reds manager Arne Slot has left Salah at home for Tuesday's Champions League trip to Inter Milan and admitted at his pre-match press conference that he remains unsure over the forward's future at Anfield.

It comes after Salah accused Liverpool of "throwing me under the bus" after he was named as a substitute for three consecutive games, and insisted he had " no relationship" with Slot.

Jamie Carragher responded to Salah - who had name-checked the Liverpool legend in his weekend outburst - by suggesting the player himself had twice "thrown the club under the bus", and accused the Egyptian of putting his own interests ahead of his team.

Salah's omission appears to have strengthened Slot's hand at the club, with reports suggesting that the club hierarchy has backed their manager in the face of the player's decision to go public with his complaints.

It comes as former Liverpool star Xabi Alonso is facing question marks over his future at Real Madrid after just six months in the job.

Alonso has overseen just one win in the last five La Liga games, and Sunday's 2-0 loss at home to Celta Vigo saw Real Madrid fall four points behind Barcelona.

Liverpool have long been touted as a destination for Alonso, and links with a return to Anfield as manager have only strengthened as Slot oversees a diminishing Premier League title defence.

Slot's predecessor, Jurgen Klopp, has also been linked with a sensational return, 18 months after leaving.

In a fresh twist, according to Spanish publication El Mundo, Klopp is Real Madrid's first-choice target to replace Alonso if sacked. The reports add that Real Madrid’s result against Manchester City on Wednesday is likely to be a deciding factor on Alonso’s future. An approach to Klopp could be made this week.

That would, in turn, rule out Klopp's return to Anfield but also free up Alonso to make the move to Merseyside in the event of Slot's dismissal.