In the age of social media, the distinction between disapproving of something someone does and disapproving of the actual person is often lost.
I love Mo Salah. In fact, shortly after he joined the club in the summer of 2017, my Liverpool fandom reached new heights.
Where I'm from, college basketball is king. I'm a born Louisville Cardinals fan. I've lost sleep, broken smart phones, and cried tears of joy in response to Cards basketball. For 25 years, it was unfathomable that any other team could impact my life the same way.
Suddenly, we were in a Champions League final on the back of this speedy Egyptian who never quite fit in at Chelsea. He dovetailed with Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino almost telepathically and scored, I don't know, a billion goals in his first season for the Reds.
The next year, we won the Champions League. Then we won the Prem. An FA Cup here, Carabao there. All with Salah bagging the bulk of the goals on these thrill-ride seasons that are right up there with Louisville's 2013 National Title run for me.
As crucial as Van Dijk, Alisson, Henderson, and countless others were to Liverpool's reascension, it's Mo Salah who deserves the most credit. Well, him and Jurgen Klopp. Salah has always done the hardest thing in football for us: scoring goals.
Salah's a consummate professional when it comes to taking care of himself. By all accounts, he's an awesome teammate and friend, and is known for helping younger players. He's always shouldered the expectations of millions with a smile on his face.
I don't know where my club would be without Mo Salah and I recognize him as the legend he is unequivocally.
The fact is, Mo's actions after the Leeds game were incredibly selfish and disappointing, capable of causing deeper fractures in an underperforming team and infighting in a frustrated fanbase.
Legend or not, every player should earn their place in the team on merit.
The majority of us know the hits from the infamous interview now. Mo feeling like he's been thrown under the bus. How he feels like he has no relationship with the manager. The supposed unkept promises from the summer. The most troubling part by far, though, was what he said about why he's owed a spot in the starting 11.
"The respect, I want to get. I don't have to go every day fighting for my position because I earned it. I am not bigger than anyone but I earned my position. It's football. It is what it is."
I'll never buy this. It felt like the sort of thing Cristiano Ronaldo would say, an undisputed footballing genius, but a prima donna. His superstar status has inclined numerous managers to start him every game regardless of form. No one wants to deal with the backlash.
Salah was a nailed-on starter for the first 20 games of this season, despite a return of just five goals and three assists. It was only after the 1-4 humbling versus PSV, when it was clear something had to change drastically, that Arne Slot finally dared to bench him.
It hasn't been beautiful to watch, but Liverpool is unbeaten since Slot's big call, accumulating three wins and two draws.
This small improvement isn't all down to Salah's omission. But Mo hasn't been good this year. The ball hasn't stuck to him in possession, he's been a black hole in the final third, and his goals and assists have dried up. He's been ineffective and he gives you next to nothing defensively. Because the team was suffering, Slot had to search for tweaks, and Salah's poor play made him a candidate for replacement.
Mo's outburst heaped pressure on Slot when Mo knew his job was under threat. What's more, it left not only Slot, but his teammates answering a barrage of questions in press conferences, trying to minimize collateral damage.
I respect Mo's need to start and play every minute of every game. I understand how he must feel incredulous coming off a Player of the Season award and countless broken records only to find himself on the bench a few months later. Three games on the bench in a row was bold on Slot's part.
But it's not unreasonable to expect Salah to bury his grievances in public for the sake of the team. And if he put his emotions aside long enough to reflect truthfully on his performances, I think he'd admit he's been well below par this season.
Slot is the boss. He has to be given the license to make decisions he believes in without fear of backlash. His job isn't catering to the club's most decorated players — it's coaching the team to wins.
Having said all that, I hope Mo is back in the team after AFCON.
Salah's return to the team in the Brighton game went about as well as it could have. He harried defenders and ran like a man with a point to prove. He was involved in countless chances and should have scored at the death to make it 3-0. Slot handled the situation masterfully by involving Mo on the bench to start, but getting him on at the first opportunity when Joe Gomez went down. Salah rewarded him by showing a glimpse of what he's capable of.
Consider this, too. Liverpool is in need of pacy wide men. Rio Ngumoha isn't a serious first-team option just yet, and the injury-prone Federico Chiesa will never get starters' minutes in the major competitions. Cody Gakpo's one-dimensional wide play has been frustrating to watch. And of course, Mo himself won't be back until the new year.
Signing a winger or two — Antoine Semenyo, for instance — could kickstart Liverpool's offense as we head into the business end of the season. Even if he doesn't believe it, no one would benefit from reinforcements in wide areas more than Salah himself.
We know he's lethal in the box, and it would take a lot of the pressure to start attacks off of him. It would supply him with more chances. Even if he spends more time in the dugout than he'd like as the fresh faces acclimate to the team.
I'd be an idiot to doubt Mo Salah. If he returns in January with the right attitude and mindset, plus a few new studs to partner with in attack, I know he can start creating goals again and spur Liverpool on to another successful spring.