Arne Slot met with the media on Monday ahead of Liverpool’s UEFA Champions League match with Inter Milan in Italy, the first time he’s spoken since Mohamed Salah’s explosive outburst at the weekend.
Salah did not play in Liverpool’s 3-3 draw at Leeds, the third-straight time he was out of Arne Slot’s XI, and the Egyptian said he felt “thrown under the bus” by the club. He also said he no longer has a relationship with the manager.
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That interview came in the mixed zone after Slot had spoken to the media on Saturday, and so Slot was flooded with Salah queries on Monday.
Liverpool meet Inter Milan at 3pm ET Tuesday, and Salah is not with the team. Will he back in the 18 on Saturday? Slot was asked about that, and more.
Arne Slot: ‘No clue’ if Mo Salah has played last Liverpool game
Salah trained with Liverpool on Monday and Slot told the media that the only communication he had with the player was to tell him he wouldn’t be traveling to Italy.
Slot says he did not know his relationship with Salah had truly soured until the Egyptian’s now viral interview.
“It was a surprise to me when I heard he gave the comments he gave,” Slot said.
The manager also said that Salah’s comments made it a simple decision to leave the player out of the Inter fixture.
“I’m calm, polite, but that doesn’t mean I’m weak,” Slot said. “It’s up to us as a club to react and you can see he isn’t here.”
Slot would not rule out a return for Salah, including on Saturday in the Premier League against Brighton. But he also said he has “no clue” if Salah has already played his last game for the club.
Slot also said that he was not angered by the nature of Salah’s opinions, though he wishes they had not been addressed in the media.
“I don’t feel that my authority has been undermined — it’s not the way I feel it,” Slot said, transcribed by the BBC. “It’s not about me, if my life is difficult, yes or no, that’s not very important in a situation like this. It’s if it is more difficult for the team and for the club. No one likes us to be in the situation we’re in at the moment. First of all, it’s difficult to see staff members who work so hard are affected by the situation we’re in now. Mainly because of the results. I’m the manager, I have to pick a team so to a certain extent I’m important, but my focus is on the team and not on me.”
It does feel like Slot has really been caught off guard by Salah going public with his discontent. Certainly he wouldn’t have been surprised by it, but there are not a lot of good ways to speak about it.
Slot’s not closing the door makes sense as Liverpool may need him at the weekend with Cody Gakpo out through injury and Federico Chiesa ill. The Reds can’t be throwing away point after point on principle, and an inspired Salah would make the appointment viewing that are Liverpool’s games further must-see propositions.
