At a cafe in a bustling Cairo neighborhood, Liverpool games once drew wall-to-wall crowds, but with Mohamed Salah off the pitch, his Egyptian fans would now rather play cards or quietly doomscroll than watch the Reds play.

Salah, one of the world¡¯s greatest soccer stars, delivered an unusually sharp rebuke of manager Arne Slot after he was left on the bench for three consecutive games.

Adored by fans as the ¡°Egyptian king,¡± Salah told reporters he had been ¡°thrown under the bus¡± by the club he has called home for 7? years.