Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah allegedly once threatened to leave the club due to their reported interest in Israeli player Mu’nas Dabbur.
Salah has been instrumental in Liverpool’s success this season. The forward has been in glittering form as he aims to push Arne Slot’s team to Premier League and Champions League glory.
His performance on Sunday against Manchester City, where he scored a goal and provided an assist, helped secure a 2-0 win. The victory left the Reds nine points clear at the summit of the Premier League.
However, off the pitch, Salah’s contract situation is causing as much discussion as his on-field performances. The 32-year-old is entering the final six months of his time at Liverpool, with no resolution in sight regarding a contract extension.
Despite the uncertainty, Salah and his agent, Ramy Abbas Issa, have a history of making strategic moves to ensure the forward gets what he wants before committing to the club. One such move allegedly occurred in 2018 when Salah supposedly warned the club’s management that he could leave if Dabbur was signed.
At the time, Salah’s influence at Liverpool was growing rapidly, with him leading the team to a Champions League final and keeping them competitive in a fierce title race with City. His position as the club’s standout performer was reportedly used to try and influence the club’s transfer policy, reports the Mirror.
Salah’s history with Israeli players has been marked by controversy due to the tense relationship between Israel and Palestine. In 2013, while playing for FC Basel, he sidestepped the pre-match handshake with Israeli Premier League team Maccabi Tel Aviv by changing his boots at the side of the pitch, a move Basel claimed was coincidental.
In the return leg in Israel, Salah chose a fist bump over the traditional handshake and was subsequently booed by Maccabi fans in a later match. Salah also alleged that he was compelled to participate in the game.
In a 2014 interview, he revealed: “The club (Basel) told me if I don’t go I will be suspended and there will be lots of problems. So I went and thank god I scored.”
As per Israel’s official Arabic Twitter account (@IsraelArabic), Salah was contemplating leaving Liverpool if Dabbur joined. Palestinian journalist Lina Khattab,via Alarabiya News, said:”Mohamed Salah is not the first Egyptian footballer to refuse normalization with Israel.”
She referred to former Egypt star Mohamed Abu Trieka, who in 2008 removed his shirt to display another underneath that read “In solidarity with Gaza.”
Khattab continued: “Mohamed Salah threatened to leave Liverpool if Israeli player Mu’nas Dabbur joins the team, not caring about the consequences.”
However, those close to Salah reportedly said that as a professional, it did not matter to him who the club decided to sign. Despite this, the rumours persisted.
Hagay Hacohen from the Jerusalem Post cited Israeli reports, saying: “Egyptian superstar Mohamed Salah has allegedly threatened to leave Premier League football club Liverpool if Arab-Israeli soccer player Mu’nas Dabbur joins the team.”
However, amid intensifying speculation, ex-head coach of the Egyptian national squad Mahmoud Fayez weighed in to put rumours to rest. “Before this becomes a trend, Mohamed Salah is a professional player and is not interested in whether or not Liverpool brings in an Israeli,” he said via X, formerly known as Twitter.
Dabbur also rubbished the claims, saying: “There was never an official offer [from Liverpool]. They were only linked with me because I was in England on vacation. That story isn’t true. I have Egyptian friends who spoke with Salah and he assured them that he had never said he did not want me in Liverpool.”
Despite the controversy, former Red Bull Salzburg forward Dabbur did not end up signing for Liverpool. Yet Salah’s loyalty to Liverpool was never really in question as he continued to secure the Champions League and Premier League titles for the club in the subsequent seasons.
