Mo Salah sends message to departing Egypt boss after igniting Jurgen Klopp row

06 February 2024 , 22:11

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Mohamed Salah has sent a parting message to Egypt boss Rui Vitoria (Image: Getty Images)

Mohamed Salah has sent a farewell message to Egypt head coach Rui Vitoria after he was sacked following their disappointing campaign at the African Cup of Nations.

Egypt progressed through to the knockouts despite failing to win a single group stage game. The Pharaohs drew against Mozambique, Cape Verde and Ghana to book their place in the last 16.

However, Egypt, who reached the final at the 2021 AFCON, crashed out of the competition against DR Congo on penalties. A matter of days following their exit, Egypt confirmed that Vitoria had been fired.

Vitoria took charge of Egypt in July 2022 and signed a four-year contract which would keep him at the Pharaohs until after the 2026 World Cup. Despite winning 12 of his 14 matches going into AFCON, Vitoria has now been relieved of his duties, with ex-Al Ahly coach Mohamed Youssef appointed as interim manager.

Salah's final match under Vitoria came in the 2-2 draw against Ghana, where the Liverpool forward was substituted just before half-time after picking up a hamstring injury. After confirmation of Vitoria's dismissal, Salah said on Instagram : "Thanks for everything, coach. I wish you the best in the future."

Jurgen Klopp defends Mohamed Salah and explains Liverpool scoring drought

Salah earned 13 of his 86 Egypt caps under Vitoria, with the most memorable outing coming when he scored four in a 6-0 World Cup Qualifying win over Djibouti in November. His club and country manager then had some cross words after Jurgen Klopp offered an update on Salah's fitness.

The incident came after Klopp confirmed that Salah was due to return to Merseyside for treatment on his injury, with the hope he could potentially return in the latter stages. Vitoria was unimpressed with Klopp going public though and offered a stinging response in a subsequent press conference.

(AFP via Getty Images)

He said: “We didn’t want to alarm anyone. I didn’t think it was right for Liverpool, via any intermediary, to speak about this, because we had a tremendously important game today. Salah has always been with us. Now this game is over we will find the best solution for the treatment of the player. These are the facts. This is the situation.”

“Before the game we did not want to say anything. Meanwhile, everything was in the control of our excellent medical team." Klopp subsequently apologised to Vitoria, although it all proved moot with Egypt failing to stay in the competition long enough for him to return.

Liverpool are next in action when they face Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday. It's unknown when Salah will next be back for the Reds as they chase four trophies between now and the end of the season.

Kieran King