With Mohamed Salah and Arne Slot still at loggerheads with each other, Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard had a simple three-word demand for the Egyptian
Steven Gerrard has made it clear Mohamed Salah ‘needs to apologise’ to Liverpool manager Arne Slot. Salah, 33, was left out of the squad for the Reds’ impressive 1-0 away victory over Inter Milan in the Champions League, after his mixed-zone tirade at Elland Road.
Slot insinuated the next move will have to come from Salah, if they are to work together again at Anfield. Gerrard also believes this should be the case, comparing the fallout to the time Luis Suarez was relegated to the U23s side after he fell out with Brendan Rodgers at the start of the 2013-14 campaign.
Suarez and Rodgers eventually reconciliated with each other and Suarez went on to score 31 goals and contribute 15 assists, as the Reds came so close to winning the Premier League. Gerrard, who said he played the role of “mediator” between Suarez and Rodgers at the time, believes Salah must be the one to extend the olive branch to Slot.
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Gerrard made the three-word demand to Salah while speaking on TNT Sports, saying the Egyptian “needs to apologise” but also said all parties involved must approach the situation with “common sense”.
The former skipper said: “He said a couple of lines within the interview that are wrong, and I think he needs to apologise for that. I hope that Virgil van Dijk, as his captain, as his leader, will help put that together.
“I’ve been in that situation myself. The reality is, as a Liverpool fan now, Mohamed Salah is a world-class footballer, and he’s Liverpool’s best goalscorer. He helped win the league last year, so we can’t all have short memories. He’s really important for the football club, unless the situation’s a lot worse than what we’re seeing.
“But from a fan point of view and an ex-player point of view, I wanted to put some common sense into it. He’s a world-class footballer. We need him.
“Hopefully the situation can be sorted out in the coming hours and days because no one, from a Liverpool perspective, needs this to go on. The result last night helped. They were fantastic. It was a top team performance.”
Should Van Dijk decide to play the role of peacemaker between Salah and Slot, he may best be advised to turn to Gerrard for words of wisdom. Suarez and Rodgers were at a similar impasse all the way back in 2013 after the Uruguayan accused the ex-Reds boss and the club of breaking promises, not long after Arsenal failed to sign him.
Suarez went on to enjoy a phenomenal campaign as Liverpool finished just two points behind eventual Premier League winners Manchester City. Gerrard’s example could be a piece of foreshadowing as to what could happen if Salah apologises to Slot and gets back into the club’s goodbooks.
Salah’s final match for Liverpool before he heads off to play in the Africa Cup of Nations, if he is integrated back into the team, is this weekend’s home clash against Brighton and Hove Albion,
If Egypt go far in the competition, Salah may not be back in Liverpool until mid January. During his mixed-zone interview, Salah also hinted the match against the Seagulls could be his final one for the Reds.
Slot also said he is not sure as to whether Salah will play for the club again in his pre-match press conference before the clash against Inter.
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