Arne Slot insisted that his relationship with Mohamed Salah has not broken down even after dropping the star attacker from Liverpool’s trip to face Inter Milan in the Champions League.
“That’s not the way I feel but he has the right to feel how he feels things. I haven’t felt that at all,” said Liverpool coach Slot to supporters.
The Egypt forward was not taken to Italy despite training earlier in the day with the first team, after saying he felt like he had been “thrown under the bus” by the club and no longer had a relationship with Slot.
Salah made those comments after he was left on the bench for the third consecutive game in a 3-3 draw against Leeds.
Asked whether Salah, who has scored 250 times for Liverpool since signing from Roma in 2017, had played his last game for the Reds, Slot said: “I have no clue.”
“I cannot answer that question at this moment in time,” added Slot.
“He has every right to feel what he feels, but he doesn’t have the right to share it with the media.”
Liverpool are struggling in ninth place in the Premier League and are in a crisis of form which has only been made worse by Salah’s criticism of Slot.
Liverpool have won just four times in 15 matches in all competitions and sit 13th in the Champions League with nine points after being thumped 4-1 at home by PSV Eindhoven in their most recent European outing.
Salah is the club’s highest-paid player in history, having signed a new contract in April, and played a key role in Liverpool’s two Premier League titles and one Champions League triumph during his iconic spell on Merseyside.
But Salah has been a shadow of his former self during Liverpool’s struggles this season — the Premier League champions are now ninth in the table — with just four goals in 13 top-flight appearances.
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© Agence France-Presse
