The end looks nearer than ever for Salah after petty touchline row with Klopp

It could have been passed off as a storm in a teacup but ended up being a full-blown tornado. In just seven words, Mohamed Salah confirmed what all football fans had suspected: all is not well for the Egyptian King at Liverpool and the end looks nearer than ever.

‘If I speak, there will be fire,’ said the forward, who earlier had a heated exchange with Jurgen Klopp on the touchline when he was about to come on as a substitute. Arms were outstretched, fingers pointed and Darwin Nunez, of all people, had to step in as an unlikely peacemaker.

The German manager tried to play it down and said: ‘We spoke about that moment in the dressing room with the lads, it's done.’ Klopp tried to distinguish any flames of speculation but Salah then added fuel, the debate roared on and soon became out of control.

Social media is not the best gauge for fan opinion but a large majority of supporters soon started to turn on Salah, the man with 210 Liverpool goals to his name, after his petty antics threatened to overshadow the farewell tour of club legend Klopp.

The location of the original row said a lot in itself and the fact it happened on the touchline highlights something was wrong long before this tip of the iceberg emerged. This was the second time in the last three games that Salah had started as a substitute.

If last week at Fulham could be passed off as the forward being rested, his omission for this trip to West Ham was clear: he was dropped. Be it form, fitness or attitude - maybe a bit of both - Salah is certainly not Klopp’s favourite pupil at the moment.

And that was probably the bone of contention that led him to have a short fuse when waiting to be introduced in the 79th minute. There is no transcript of what was said, but it was