Mohamed Salah admits he was “very disappointed” not to have been named captain for Liverpool’s recent Champions League match against Midtjylland.
Jurgen Klopp named a much-changed side for their dead-rubber final game in the group stage, with star man Salah scoring Liverpool’s goal in a 1-1 draw.
Salah was expecting to be named captain as the most experienced player in the team, but the armband was instead worn by 22-year-old Trent Alexander-Arnold.
“Honestly, I was very disappointed,” Salah told AS. “I was expecting to be the captain... but it's the manager's decision, so I accept it.”
Salah stirred up speculation of a move away from Liverpool, refusing to rule out a future switch to Barcelona or Real Madrid.
The interview may not have gone down well at Anfield, with Salah dropped to the bench for Saturday’s game with Crystal Palace.
Jurgen Klopp told BT Sport: "Mo Salah is on the bench, they have all played a lot of games. He can come on and make a difference. We need all the boys.”
Liverpool fans will of course be hoping that speculation proves to be nothing more than that. For now, Salah has his eyes on the goal, though he didn’t like to say he was aiming for a third Premier League golden boot.
“I don't want to say that for now. But, yeah, I'm always trying to score goals to help the team to win the game.
“There's a good chance to be a third-time top scorer again. But the most important thing is to win something, to win the big trophies with the team. That's the most important thing.
“I think I have broken a few records; I wish I could break all the records for the club, that would be nice. But yeah, it's just like I said again, the team comes first before any record. But as much as you keep breaking records and winning games, that's great also.
“I think over the last few seasons we've been doing good in the Champions League. I think also in the Premier League, as well. We had a good chance to win them both. Last season we were unlucky in the Champions League. We will fight for both this year, that's from my point of view that we will fight for both.”