Salah ‘would have 100% stayed’ at Liverpool if he had known Arne Slot was leaving | OneFootball

Mohamed Salah “would 100% have stayed” at Liverpool if he had known Arne Slot was leaving the club, according to former Reds centre-back Dejan Lovren, who also hit out at Jamie Carragher over his criticism of the Egyptian hero.

Salah signed a two-year deal at the end of last season, when his 29 goals and 18 assists helped Liverpool to their second Premier League title in Slot’s first season in charge.

But Salah suffered a dramatic downturn to match Liverpool in general this term and after claiming he had been “thrown under the bus” before getting off to AFCON before Christmas, the forward broke ranks for a second time at the end of the season, calling for a return of “heavy-metal football” in another jab at Slot and his management of the team.

The 33-year-old has already announced his plan to leave by that stage, with Liverpool ripping up his contract to allow him to depart on a free transfer, but Lovren claims things would have been different had the Reds hierarchy not insisted they would stick by Slot next season.

“I don’t think it’s the management; I think it’s just one person, and I think it’s just the manager,” said Lovren in an interview with Middle Eastern outlet WinWin.

“They didn’t have a good relationship. Let’s put it simply. With (Jurgen) 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, and everyone knows it because when you look at the previous eight or nine seasons, he did really well. Then in the last season… Now people will say, ‘Oh yes, but he also did well in the first year Slot came in,’ but I don’t think that was because I think he just took over the team as it was, as the team was already.

“So, like I said, it’s sad in my opinion that Mo left in that way. I never expected it. Especially since he had another year.”

On Salah’s relationship with Slot, Lovren added: “There was no relationship. Yes, to put it simply, there was no relationship.

“I don’t know why. Was it pride? Maybe it was a pride issue? I don’t know, maybe Mo was too big for him to handle, I don’t know, but Mo was never arrogant. I’ve known Mo since day one, and Mo has always been the same person.”

Slot has now been sacked and replaced by Andoni Iraola, and when asked if Salah would have stayed at Liverpool had Slot departed before him, Lovren – who now plays for Greek club PAOK – said: “Yes, he would have stayed 100%. Believe me, he would have stayed 100%, I know that. But the timing was bad.”

‘Disgusting’ Carragher

Lovren also hit out at Carragher, who has heavily criticised Salah for his antics this season, over his “disgusting” comments about the Egyptian hero.

“It’s not harsh. It’s disgusting. Why didn’t they talk about him like this for the past eight or nine years? Tell me,” he said.

“Okay, one season, and then he’s the target again. There are so many other issues.

“Some pundits do it just to attract attention, maybe because they haven’t succeeded in other areas of their lives, so now they need to perform well.

“Sometimes people put Mo in the spotlight, and then the easy part is, like I said… especially Carragher, he says whatever he wants.

“I always said he should tell him this to his face, say all these things to Mo to his face. He’ll never say that. Because I know he never will, because he never said it to me. He’s talked badly about me too, but he never said that to me anyway.

“You know, he’s just performing on TV and he gets paid for it, so he needs to perform this way. But whatever, it just hurts me because I know deep down who Mo is. Because he’s a really good guy inside, with a good mind and a good heart. I honestly don’t understand. He deserves so much better.”