Mohamed Salah’s relationship with Arne Slot had deteriorated prior to them both leaving Liverpool with a former Red making some major accusations about the pair
Dejan Lovren has doubled down on Mohamed Salah having no relationship with Arne Slot and maintains things would’ve been very different had Jurgen Klopp still been Liverpool boss.
The Egyptian waved goodbye to Anfield on the final day of the season, bringing to an end his nine-year spell with Liverpool. It ended in underwhelming fashion with the team and the player falling well short of expectations.
Salah posted his worst numbers as a Red this term, which eventually saw him benched by Slot as he sought to get the team back on track. That didn’t sit well with the Egyptian, a three-time PFA Player of the Year, who claimed that the Dutchman had “thrown him under the bus”.
His public show of frustration was less than ideal for the Reds boss, who would receive his marching orders once the campaign ended, and Lovren admits it was obvious to see Salah and his manager didn’t get on.
He told WinWin: “They didn’t have a good relationship. Let’s put it simply. With Klopp, he had a really good relationship. It wasn’t always perfect, but they knew each other very well, let’s say that too, and they trusted each other, they liked each other, and Mo gave everything on the pitch for Klopp, and Klopp gave him that trust. But (with Slot) it was the opposite. It’s that simple.”
Lovren and Salah have retained a strong relationship and the Croatian insists that Klopp knew how to manage the Egyptian and the situation when he was struggling for form. Klopp was able to deflect or protect his player, but Slot didn’t give him the same treatment.
“As I said, when Mo wasn’t performing well sometimes, Klopp knew what he had to do with him,” he added. “How to protect him, how to keep him even if he wasn’t performing well, he needed to keep him for the next game. But as Mo said, they threw him.”
Lovren also claimed: “Maybe if Klopp had stayed another year, or two, he might have left in a much better way. But, you know… this is how it happened.”
The former Liverpool defender also took aim at the media, insisting their treatment of Salah was “disgusting” given he had just one bad season across his time at Anfield.
“It’s not harsh. It’s disgusting,” he said. “Why didn’t they talk about him like this for the past eight or nine years? Tell me… Okay, one season, and then he’s the target again.”
After Salah’s penultimate game, a 4-1 hammering at Aston Villa, he put out a social media post and claimed Liverpool needed to return to the “heavy metal football” which they played under Klopp. Slot was dismissed shortly after the season ended following a fifth place finish with Andoni Iraola hired as his replacement.
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