Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard has opened up on a private conversation he had with Mohamed Salah following the forward’s public falling out with head coach Arne Slot.
Salah made headlines earlier this season when he called out Arne Slot over his team selection. The Egyptian forward was left frustrated after being left on the bench for a string of matches.
The talented forward reached his boiling point in December, following a 3-3 draw with Leeds United at Elland Road, Salah gave an explosive interview, where he lambasted Slot and accused the club of throwing him “under the bus.”
Mohamed Salah (L) and Steven Gerrard
Gerrard has now revealed the steps he took to ensure Salah stays grounded. Speaking on The Overlap, the former Liverpool captain revealed: “I spoke to him around that interview at the time. I said ‘Don’t do what you’ve done and go under a cloud’ – yeah I spoke to him direct. He texts me every now and again or I text him now and again, more if I am going somewhere with Leo (Gerrard’s son) just so Leo can see him.
“But it gave me the opportunity to say to him, ‘You’ve been here for eight or nine years. You’ve been a king here, you’ve got this legacy. Go on your terms, the right way’. He was still a little emotional at the time from the incidents. He was a sub, he was in and out of the team at the time, he was upset. I thought it would have been a shame if he left in January and he just left.”
Salah has confirmed he will leave Liverpool at the end of the season, with the club now tasked with replacing a man who has netted 250 goals for the club.
Gerrard believes there is no room for a developmental project and that the recruitment team must aim for the very top of the market.
“You have to buy someone who is box office, or you are not replacing him. They have to be top-end, top three [or] four wingers in the world to replace Salah because that’s what Mo has been,” he recently noted.
Liverpool have been linked with high profile forwards, with Bayern Munich star Michael Olise reportedly their number one target.
