Mo Salah confirmed last week that he will leave Liverpool at the end of the season, ending a nine-year, trophy-laden spell at Anfield.
Mo Salah and Arne Slott have not seen eye to eye once this season (Image: James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
Egyptian football legend Mohamed Aboutrika has claimed that his reason for leaving Liverpool is due to a deterioration in his relationship with Arne Slott after speaking to Mo Salah. Salah, 33, announced the news last week that he would be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season.
Theories quickly emerged as to why the forward had decided to leave with one year left on his lucrative contract with the Reds. Now Salah’s former teammate, idol and friend has revealed that he has spoken to the Liverpool star since his bombshell.
Appearing on beIN Sport, the former striker claimed that Slott “pushed Salah away”. Aboutica said: “One of the reasons why Mohamed Salah left Liverpool is because of Arne Slott, because they have been having problems lately.”
“Slot, you pushed the guy away. Salah’s contract with Liverpool was only for two years… Salah wants to work in peace and enjoy the next phase of his career. Salah doesn’t need approval from Slott or anyone else.”
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Aboutrika added: “I spoke to him and we talked about the desired destinations to go there. Our relationship with him is like a brotherhood, a friendship.”
“I love him for God’s sake. I’m not going to use my relationship with him for work. I told him my thoughts about my next destination. Salah doesn’t need anyone to guide him or give him advice.”
Despite Slott winning the Premier League title in his first season at Anfield, Salah’s relationship with the manager was rocky. In November, after being left out of the starting lineup for three games in a row, Salah said he had “nothing to do” with Slott and said he was leaving the club, saying Slott had “thrown him under the bus”.
After face-off negotiations with Slott, the Egyptian international returned to the team and re-established himself as a regular starter after the African Cup of Nations. Salah missed a penalty as Liverpool lost 4-0 to Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Saturday.
The defeat came after Slott suggested everything about Salah’s decision had not been made public. “So what seems to be true is not necessarily true, especially when it comes to Liverpool,” the Reds manager said in his pre-match press conference.
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Mo Salah misses a penalty against Man City (Image: Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
“I think Mo has earned the full right to decide whenever he thinks he should leave. And he has done so much for this club. He had to make the decision himself and that’s what he did.”
“After that incident (at Leeds) that you mention, which happens almost every day anywhere in the world when it comes to football, you know what happened after that? He went to AFCON and when he came back to AFCON he played every game.
“Here’s the answer to your question. The only person you can talk to about this is Mo himself. So I’m assuming you’re now assuming he’s been away for six days and wants to go home. But that doesn’t have to be true.”
“I’d be surprised if Mo didn’t have a moment to share his thoughts on why he made the decisions he made. It’s not for me to do that. It’s up to him. And I’m not going to go into all these assumptions, and I will, how do you say this in English? I’m careful with assumptions, yes.”
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