Liverpool FC coach Arne Slot expressed his displeasure with comments made by Egyptian star Mohamed Salah, who recently stated that his relationship with Slot had broken down and that he saw no reason for being left out of the starting lineup.
Slot spoke at a press conference on Monday evening in Milan ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League match against Inter Milan, RT reported.
“The only person who can answer that is Salah himself regarding whether he feels I hold a grudge against him. I can guess at that, but I don’t think his behavior was appropriate at that moment,” Slot said.
The Dutch coach added, “It’s difficult for me to pinpoint who he was referring to in this situation, to be honest. We informed him that he wouldn’t be traveling with us to Italy. That’s the only communication we’ve had since his recent comments. But before Saturday’s game against Leeds United, we were talking a lot and for long periods.”
When asked if their relationship had broken down, Slot replied, “That’s not how I feel, but he’s entitled to his feelings. I certainly didn’t feel that way until Saturday evening.”
“Players don’t usually like the idea of not being selected, but Salah has always respected the coaching staff and his teammates, and he trains hard, so what he said was a big surprise,” he continued.
Slot concluded, “But this isn’t the first time he’s been left out of the starting lineup, and my reaction to his comments was clear: I left him out of the squad.”
Salah’s future
Regarding Salah’s potential participation in the upcoming league match against Brighton, Slott responded “We have a big game against Inter Milan two days after the three-three draw against Leeds United, and we’ll reconsider this starting Wednesday.”
The Liverpool manager emphasized “I firmly believe that any player can return to action. As for his reaction to being left out of the Inter Milan match, Salah simply made a brief comment.”
The manager explained some of his tactical choices, saying, “We’ve struggled more and more as a team this season due to our opponents’ tactics. I’m not just talking about long balls; I’ve tried many solutions, and that’s my job.”
“We were very weak in the Nottingham Forest and PSV Eindhoven matches, so I decided to bring on another midfielder against West Ham, and we won. Then I brought Salah on at halftime against Sunderland, and I considered bringing him on before the Leeds United game.”
Is this the end of Salah and Liverpool?
When asked if Salah had played his last game for Liverpool, Slot only fueled the mystery by saying, “I don’t know. I can’t answer that question right now.”
The Liverpool boss continued, “It’s not about me. It’s about making things more difficult for the team and the club. Nobody likes to be in this situation, and my decisions aren’t based solely on him or myself, but on what’s best for the team.”
“I’m usually calm and polite, but that doesn’t mean I’m weak. When a player makes statements like that, there has to be a reaction from the club. So, Salah isn’t with us.”
Slot concluded, “Salah has every right to feel the way he does, but if he has the right to express his opinion in the media, then we have to respond. We’ve spoken a lot, but that doesn’t mean we always agree. We did speak in the last couple of days before the Leeds game.”
