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RIFT WORSENS: AFTER ARNE SLOT FEUD, WHY MO SALAH MISSED EGYPT'S AFCON WARM-UP

Egypt defeated Nigeria 2-1 in a friendly, but the story is Mo Salah's absence, compounding his current rift with Liverpool manager Arne Slot and future doubt.

Rift Worsens: After Arne Slot Feud, Why Mo Salah Missed Egypt's AFCON Warm-up
Salah Puts Anfield Storm Aside to Chase Elusive Trophy.

Egypt edged out Nigeria 2-1 in their sole friendly match before the Africa Cup of Nations, though Mo Salah didn't play. Salah, who is actually 31 (not 33), has joined his national teammates to prepare for the 2027 AFCON in Morocco, where he'll lead Egypt.

Surprisingly, Liverpool's star player wasn't in the lineup for Tuesday's game, according to manager Hossam Hassan, even though Salah hasn't been a starter in Liverpool's past five games.

Arne Slot had sidelined the forward due to a dip in form, and things got tenser when Salah made some pretty strong statements in a post-game interview. After sitting on the bench during Liverpool's 3-3 tie with Leeds earlier in the month, the Egyptian star cast some doubt on his future with Anfield.

Salah said Liverpool had unfairly criticised him and suggested someone wanted him out. He added that his relationship with Slot was nonexistent.

After being left out of Liverpool's trip to face Inter Milan in the Champions League the previous week, there were serious talks before Saturday's game against Brighton. Salah was back in the team and played most of their 2-0 victory, despite starting on the bench again.

But the Egypt captain was absent when Egypt took on Nigeria. There were concerns about Salah's participation since he arrived in Egypt early Tuesday morning with Manchester City's Omar Marmoush.

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Mahmoud Saber and Mostafa Mohamed scored for Egypt in Cairo. This win was their only warm-up before starting their AFCON campaign next Monday. Egypt is in a group with Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Angola.

Salah is looking forward to winning the trophy for the first time. He mentioned in 2022, Of course, I want to achieve something with my country's team.

Should Liverpool consider selling Mo Salah? Share your opinion in the comments.

It means the world to me. Winning this trophy would feel different from any other. We almost won it before (in 2017); we gave it our all, but luck wasn't on our side.

But that's in the past. Now we're here for another opportunity. We need to fight hard and give everything to win it, and I know the other players feel the same way.

The final match is scheduled for Rabat on January 18.

CRISTIANO RONALDO PROTESTS AL-HILAL'S BENZEMA DEAL BY SKIPPING AL-NASSR LEAGUE MATCH

Cristiano Ronaldo is fuming. Discover why the Al-Nassr star skipped his last match and is now threatening to leave Saudi Arabia.

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Ronaldo "considering leaving Saudi Arabia" despite signing 2027 contract extension

Cristiano Ronaldo has been the main attraction in the Saudi Pro League ever since he landed in the Middle East three years ago. Now, for the first time, it looks like he’s actually thinking about leaving. He’s frustrated. He feels the playing field isn’t level, and it’s starting to get to him.

Here’s the deal: Four clubs in the league—Al-Ittihad, Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal, and Al-Ahli—get their backing straight from the state. But Ronaldo sat out Al-Nassr’s match against Al-Riyadh on Monday night. Why? He was protesting. He found out Al-Hilal was about to sign Karim Benzema from Al-Ittihad, and that was the last straw. From Ronaldo’s perspective, Al-Hilal keeps getting more freedom to splash cash than everyone else. They’re the current champions, and Ronaldo still hasn’t managed to win his first Saudi title.

Saudi officials tried to calm him down. According to Diario AS, they reached out and argued that most of Al-Hilal’s extra spending comes from Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, not the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Al-Hilal just brought in Kader Meite for €30 million, Saimon Bouabre for €23 million, and now Benzema. Al-Nassr, on the other hand, only managed two free transfers this winter. Sure, they spent a lot more in the summer, but that didn’t seem to matter to Ronaldo.

Reports from Portugal, cited by AS, say Ronaldo’s not ruling anything out—not even leaving Saudi Arabia this summer. That’s despite just signing an extension with Al-Nassr until 2027.

And honestly, he has a point. Since he arrived, Al-Hilal have spent €647 million, while Al-Nassr have shelled out €410 million and Al-Ittihad €365 million. These numbers probably don’t include salaries—and let’s face it, nobody’s making more than Ronaldo. He’s supposed to return on Friday when Al-Nassr face Al-Ittihad, but right now, no one really knows if he’ll play or if he’s planning his next move.

N’GOLO KANTE SKIPS TRAINING AS AL-ITTIHAD BLOCK HIS MOVE TO FENERBAHCE OFFICIALLY

N’Golo Kante has gone on strike at Al-Ittihad after a paperwork error blocked his move to Fenerbahce. Can he still sign by Friday?

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Paperwork error halts N’Golo Kante’s transfer to Turkey at final hour

N’Golo Kanté didn’t show up for Al-Ittihad training on Tuesday, and it’s not hard to see why. He was all set to head to Fenerbahçe, but the deal fell apart at the last minute—apparently because Al-Ittihad messed up some paperwork. Kante was supposed to fly to Istanbul and sign, but thanks to this administrative slip, he’s stuck in limbo. There’s still a shot at reviving the transfer sinceKanté Turkey’s transfer window stays open until Friday, February 6.

Kante was one of the first big European names to jump to the Saudi Pro League, joining Al-Ittihad in 2023 after seven years with Chelsea. He’s been a key player in Jeddah, helping Al-Ittihad win the 2024-25 league title and the King’s Cup.

Then, in the middle of the January window, word got out that Fenerbahce wanted him. The Turkish club were eager to add a World Cup winner to their squad. The plan was to swap Kante for Youssef En-Nesyri, who’d head to Saudi Arabia. Everything seemed set until deadline day, when news broke that an error by Al-Ittihad in the Transfer Matching System stopped the transfer cold.

Fenerbahce didn’t hold back. They blamed Al-Ittihad directly, saying they’d done everything right: agreements with the players, medicals, paperwork, all wrapped up on time. But Al-Ittihad entered something wrong in the system, and that was that. Fenerbahçe even asked for an extension and reached out to FIFA, but nothing moved. In the end, the deal died, and Fenerbahçe put out a statement saying they understood the frustration and would keep working to strengthen the squad.

Meanwhile, Kante’s making his feelings clear. According to Ben Jacobs, he skipped training on Tuesday, still hoping the move to Fenerbahce can happen. Santi Aouna says talks between the clubs aren’t dead yet. L’Equipe is reporting that Kanté doesn’t want to play for Al-Ittihad while he waits for FIFA’s decision. With the Turkish window open until Friday, there’s still a glimmer of hope for Kante, though En-Nesyri’s move is off the table for now.

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