Arne Slot Addresses Mohamed Salah's Future at Liverpool
Arne Slot is refusing to say whether Anfield will get a final glimpse of Mohamed Salah in Liverpool red on Sunday – or whether one of the club’s greatest modern players will slip quietly out of the back door.
Liverpool need just a point against Brentford to secure Champions League football. The occasion could double as Salah’s farewell, but Slot would not be drawn.
“I never say anything about team selection,” he said when pressed on whether the Egyptian would feature.
A farewell wrapped in a storm
If this is the end, it comes wrapped in tension. Last weekend Salah went public, using social media to call for Liverpool to change their style of play. The message landed like a shot across the bows of his manager, a clear criticism of the football being played under Slot.
Salah will leave the club this summer after nine years at Anfield, a period that has redefined Liverpool’s modern era. The final chapter, though, has turned messy.
Earlier in the season, Slot left the 33-year-old out of the squad for a Champions League trip to Inter Milan after Salah said in an interview that his relationship with the manager had broken down. That decision underlined how fragile the situation had become. Now, with one league game left, the tension is out in the open.
Asked how he felt about Salah’s latest comments, Slot batted it away.
“I don’t think it is that important what I feel about it,” he said. “What is important is that we qualify for the Champions League on Sunday and I prepare Mo and the whole team in the best possible way for the game.”
The message was clear: the club comes first, the emotion can wait.
Champions League first, everything else later
Slot’s frustration stems from more than a social media post. Liverpool’s failure to wrap up Champions League qualification at Villa has left them exposed going into the final day.
“I was very disappointed after our loss against Villa because a win would have given us qualification for the Champions League which we didn’t get,” he admitted. “Now there’s one game to go which is a vital one for us as a club.”
The stakes are obvious. Miss out on the Champions League and the summer looks very different. Land the point they need, and Slot gains a platform to rebuild, with or without Salah.
“We both want what’s best for the club, we both want the club to be successful and that’s the main aim,” Slot said, stressing the shared objective, if not the shared vision of how to get there.
A manager’s vision, a legend’s parting shot
Slot did not hide his own dissatisfaction with what Liverpool have produced this season.
“I have to find a way to evolve this team now and definitely in the summer and in the upcoming season to be successful again, and to play a brand of football that I like,” he said. “And if I like it then the fans will like it as well because I haven’t liked a lot of the way we played this season.”
That line cut through. The manager is not just defending his style; he is signalling change.
“But we try to evolve the team in a way that we can compete but definitely also play the brand of football, the style of football the fans, I, and hopefully Mo if he’s somewhere else at that moment in time will like as well.”
The last phrase hung heavy. Salah’s future lies away from Anfield, Slot knows it, and he is already speaking as though their paths will soon split.
Identity, authority and a public challenge
Salah’s post spoke of Liverpool needing to “recover their identity”, a phrase that naturally raised the question: had he undermined Slot’s authority?
The Dutchman bristled at the suggestion.
“You are doing a lot of assumptions. First of all you say that he wants to play that style and then say it is not my style,” he replied.
“I think Mo was really happy with the style we played last year as it lead to us winning the league. Football has changed, football has evolved, but we both want what is best for Liverpool and that is for us to compete for trophies, which we haven’t done this season and which we did last season.
“He and the team – and I was included in that – brought the league title back after five years and we would like to challenge for that again next season and continue to evolve the team. That is my take on it.”
Slot leaned on history: they have already proved they can win together. The argument now is about how to win again, and who will be on the pitch when that happens.
Social media noise, training ground reality
Salah’s post drew likes and comments from other Liverpool players, fuelling talk of a dressing room siding with its star forward. Slot, though, dismissed the idea that online gestures reflected any deeper split.
“Social media came when I was a little bit older, so as people know I’m not really involved. I don’t really know what it exactly means if you ‘like’ a post,” he said.
“What I know, and that is my world, is to see how they train and I have not seen anything different compared to the rest of the season.”
For Slot, the training pitch remains the only barometer that matters. The rest is noise.
On Sunday, Anfield will rise for Salah whether he starts, comes off the bench or simply walks out for one last wave. The bigger question is whether that farewell comes with Liverpool safely back in the Champions League – and whether this turbulent end marks the beginning of Slot’s Liverpool, or the first crack in it.
