Egypt manager's Mo Salah comments confirm why Arne Slot was sacked | OneFootball

Liverpool will officially say goodbye to Mohamed Salah this week.

The Egyptian King, 34, reached an agreement to rip up his £400k per week contract one year early following a fallout with Arne Slot. And once the calendar turns to June 30 Salah will be a free agent - entitled to put pen-to-paper on a mega deal elsewhere.

The Salah saga was one of the issues which ultimately sealed Slot’s fate. The Dutchman was unable to get the same kinds of performances out of the left-footed attacker as he produced during the Premier League title-winning 2024/25 season.

Salah finished the campaign with 29 goals and 18 assists - carrying home the top flight’s top scorer and playmaker awards. The goals and assists dried up however last season with Salah on occasion forced to settle for a peripheral role.

His form has been in stark contrast to what he’s managed for the Pharaohs of Egypt in recent times.

Salah showing why he's Egypt's Messi

Amid all the acrimony back at Anfield he led the North Africans all the way to the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals against the odds - and to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

He scored and assisted against New Zealand on the second group stage matchday - bringing Egypt their first-ever World Cup win. That followed an assist in the opening game against Belgium.

Helping Salah reach his best form on the international stage once again has been head coach Hossam Hassan. Much like Argentina being optimised for Lionel Messi Egypt play in a very particular way to accommodate Salah.

Mohamed Hany - the tireless wing-back is charged with getting up and down the pitch in Hassan’s adaptable formation.

Salah - rather than playing out wide - is then given the freedom to operate in the width of the penalty box - rarely venturing much beyond those confines.

It has brought Salah - and Egypt - huge improvements over the last year or so all at a time when the superstar’s Liverpool output was diminishing.

Egypt coach fires broadside at Arne Slot

"Salah worked hard on ⁠the pitch and this is something you should know,” the Egypt head coach told reporters after the New Zealand game.

"I am maybe the first coach to let him play in a position that matches his danger, that ⁠matches his capabilities and qualities.

“We worked on so many things and I am sure we are going to see more from him."

That is a direct insult to Slot - who forced Salah out wide and never afforded him the opportunity to influence games last season like he did in the previous campaign.

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Egypt challenge Salah with new position

“Mohamed Salah is a great character, a sincere man,” national team director Ibrahim Hassan told the Al Arabiya YouTube channel.

“Everyone loves him—the players love him, the staff loves him. He’s very cooperative, and you feel that he understands what we want.

“Hossam feels that too; he can communicate it quickly, and there’s strong interaction with the players.

“Salah’s role is very big. He carries a lot—not just on the pitch, but also in terms of discipline, organization, and how he talks to the players. That aspect is also important psychologically.

“All the players around him love him. Honestly, he doesn’t need much said about him—especially when he’s confident and in form, like you can see now, whether in the Africa Cup of Nations or in the current competition.

“His level rises. That shows he’s mentally comfortable, working with a coach like Hossam Hassan, who gives him freedom and new roles that allow him to show up in this way, alongside his skills. So, this really speaks for itself.”

Again this reiterates the point that Egypt are asking Salah to influence games in a manner that suits him at this stage of his career and at the age of 34.

He is no longer as zippy as he once was and does not have the legs to run up and down for 90 minutes and lead counters. But he remains a world-class playmaker - and finisher - as his performances at the World Cup thus far have confirmed.

It’s too late for Slot and indeed for Andoni Iraola. But Hossam Hassan has reminded Liverpool how they should have been using Salah all along. And that oversight played its part in costing Slot his job.