Arne Slot replies to Mo Salah contract bombshell after Liverpool batter Man Utd
Arne Slot responded after Mohamed Salah told Liverpool fans he is set to leave the club following their 3-0 thrashing of Manchester United.
The Reds’ ace shone at Old Trafford on Sunday, scoring once and registering two assists for Luis Diaz’s first-half strikes. In the aftermath, chatting with Dave Jones, Roy Keane, and former team-mate Daniel Sturridge on Sky Sports, the forward stunned fans by stating this season is set to be his Anfield farewell – with no one at the club having yet discussed his future with him.
The Egyptian, who boasts astonishing numbers of 213 goals and 90 assists in a Liverpool shirt, will see his contract run out next July – with no extension in the pipeline as it stands, despite him winning every trophy possible since joining in 2017.
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Speaking after the match, Salah told Sky Sports: “I had a good summer and had a long time to myself to try to stay positive. As you know, it’s my last year at the club.
“I just want to enjoy it and I don’t want to think about it. I feel like I’m free to play football and then we’ll see what happens next year. Coming into the game, I said it could be the last time [I play here with Liverpool],” reports the Express.
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(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Salah continued, highlighting a lack of communication regarding his future. He said: “No-one at the club has spoken to me about contracts, so I’m just like, ‘okay, I’m playing my last season’ and see what happens at the end of the season. It’s not up to me, but nobody’s talked to me from the club. We will see.”
Responding to this bombshell in his post-game press conference, Slot simply stated: “It’s a lot of ifs. At this moment he’s one of ours and I’m really, really happy with him being one of ours.”
“He plays really well. We, I, don’t talk about contracts from players but I can talk for hours about how Mo played today. Are you interested in that? He was impressive, like the first two games as well.”
“If you talk about an individual you don’t do justice to all the other ones because I think today you saw a real good team performance.”
(Image: (Image: GETTY))
Sturridge chimed in after Salah‘s interview, saying: “I would be surprised [if Liverpool let him go]. Mo has achieved pretty much everything he could at the club but I’ve not seen him happier.
“The way he was speaking then was as if, ‘I want to be at the club’. If the club are going to give him what he wants then he’ll stay. I really hope he does stay because he’s been magnificent.”
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher also gave his opinion. He said: “I think Mo Salah is obsessed, like [Cristiano] Ronaldo, with records and longevity. Most of us think, when you get to 35, you’re done in football.
“The way that lad looks after himself, I think he’s thinking of playing until he’s 40, or late 30s at least.
He added: “I don’t think a Saudi situation is on the cards next season. He’s too good. He’s playing in the best league in the world, for one of the biggest clubs in the world.”
(Image: Photo by Nick Taylor/Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
“Whether it’s in another season or two seasons’ time, he’s alongside Kenny Dalglish and Steven Gerrard as the top players to play for Liverpool. He’s possibly the best wide player we’ve seen in the Premier League, even if hasn’t got the medals that maybe some others have got.”
Carragher added: “Of course you fight to keep him. It’s not about throwing money at him. It’s not what you’ve done in the past, it’s what you’re doing in the future. When you get into your mid-30s, you can’t do what you did before – but he might be different.
“Of course Liverpool want to keep him and Virgil van Dijk, but it will probably be about wages. Are they still on the same wages because, in the next two or three years, will they still be the same players? That’s the debate that will be had.”
“I would be very surprised if Salah isn’t playing for Liverpool next season because I think he’ll want to blitz every record in the club’s history.”
Liverpool are now second in the Premier League – behind Manchester City on goal difference – after winning all three of their opening games without conceding. After the international break they return with home match against Nottingham Forest, when they will be hoping to make it four wins out of four.
