Trusted Mohamed Salah ally drops Arne Slot, Liverpool exit bombshell revelation | OneFootball

A close friend of Mohamed Salah has delivered one of the real reasons behind the Liverpool legend’s impending exit, and it comes amid claims from current Reds chief Arne Slot that he has ‘no regrets’ over the Egyptian winger’s decision to quit Merseyside.

Salah announced on March 25 that the current campaign will be his last in a Liverpool shirt, having spent the last nine years building an incredible legacy at the club that has seen him score 255 goals in 436 games to date.

Despite having a year still left on his contract, the 33-year-old is now heading for the exit door, with talk of a lucrative switch to the Saudi Pro League among his many options as he begins what is likely to be the final chapter of a distinguished career.

It was initially thought that a fallout with Slot and the now infamous ‘thrown under the bus’ statement was one of the main reasons behind his decision, after Salah felt he was being used as the scapegoat for Liverpool’s poor form this season. And now his former Egypt teammate, and close friend, Mohamed Aboutrika, has confirmed that to be the case.

Speaking on winwinallsports, Aboutrika revealed: “One of the reasons behind Mohamed Salah leaving Liverpool is the presence of Arne Slot, because we’ve seen issues in the recent period… You, Slot, pushed the man away.

“Salah only had a two-year contract with Liverpool… Salah wants to work with peace of mind and enjoy the next phase of his career. Salah doesn’t need any validation from Slot or anyone else.”

The news comes as one of the two final chances for Salah to win silverware in his final season at the club ended on Saturday following a 4-0 mauling at the hands of Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals, a game where the Liverpool star missed a late penalty and had an afternoon to forget.

No Slot regrets over Salah fallout

Prior to that match, Slot actually revealed that he had no regrets over his treatment of Salah in the wake of the Egyptian’s exit announcement, which ultimately led to those comments from Aboutrika.

Speaking to the written press on Friday, as per The Guardian, Slot insisted that he would not have handled the situation with Salah any differently, which saw him bench the attacker for three successive games, before disciplinary action.

“Yes [I’m happy with how I managed it],” Slot said. “I look back at this season thinking that I made a few decisions that could have been better, but I’m not talking about this specific thing with Mo.

“I don’t regret many things I did during our one-and-a-half years together, or just longer.

“The assumption that if he’s not playing, then he wants to leave – then he would have left one-and-a-half years ago [if that was the case].

“I remember West Ham away when he wasn’t playing [under Jurgen Klopp in 2024]. I wasn’t here then. He didn’t decide to leave.

“The assumption is that if you don’t play in these games all of a sudden you want to leave. It is an assumption, and maybe it is true or maybe it isn’t, but history has shown he did not do that previously, and he had a great season after that.”

Liverpool are now facing a huge test to end their season on a positive note, with the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against reigning champions PSG coming up on Wednesday evening.

They are also far from guaranteed a place in next season’s competition, as they currently sit in fifth spot in the Premier League table, with Chelsea, Brentford and Everton all in close proximity to secure that final spot.

Arne Slot has achieved one of three conditions that’ll see Liverpool mercifully give him the sack, and even the reporters tasked with covering the Reds have turned on the lame duck boss.

Elsewhere, Liverpool are reportedly making ‘serious preparations’ to pounce for a highly-rated Italy international, who they feel could be a long-term replacement in his position.