Mohamed Salah sent out a statement after the win over Brighton and dropped a message about his future, so it was no surprise Arne Slot asked about his view on the social media post.
On Sunday, Salah created quite a stir when he took to social media to say: “Top of the table is where this club belongs. Nothing less. All teams win matches but there’s only 1 champion in the end. That’s what we want.
“Thank you for your support last night. No matter what happens, I will never forget what scoring at Anfield feels like.”
The last line certainly felt to many that it was a thinly veiled message about his contract situation, and Slot could not escape questions on his take during his press conference.
Asked what insight he could offer, Slot said: “You interpreted it in the way maybe other people don’t. I don’t look at the Instagram posts of my players, I only talk to them, which you can’t – that is the advantage I have.”
Slot jokingly added: “As long as Tony (press officer) keeps hiding them, and then you can’t talk to them.
“Mo is in a very good place at the moment. As long as he’s been here at Liverpool, he’s been in a very good place, but this season as well.
“I’m hoping he will post after tomorrow and Saturday again, and what he says is, for me, not important.
“The only thing that is important, for me, is how he plays and what he tells me when we have conversations, and that’s what matters, not how you interpret one of his posts.”
Slot was then pressed on if the post was a reference to his future being away from Anfield and, after a chuckle, added: “Then I should’ve spoke to him about what he said, if it was a reference.
“But I haven’t spoken about him, we’ve spoken about Leverkusen because they deserve all of our attention for the quality they have.
“So no, he’s out of contract at the end of the season – and Virgil said something in the press – and now he has a post which you interpreted in a certain way, and this will probably continue as long as their futures are not clear.
“But in the meantime, let’s hope they bring performances like Mo and Virgil had as well during the weekend.”
How long can Salah maintain his level?
With so much talk around Salah’s contract centred around his age, Slot was asked how long he thinks the 32-year-old can continue at the level he is at.
He said: “There’s no reason at the moment to think he is dropping in terms of his level. That’s not what you see when you look at his numbers or see him play.
“I don’t know how to say this in English, but I cannot tell you how the future will look.
“For some players, Cristiano Ronaldo – what age is he? – he’s still doing really well, Messi is still incredible, incredible.
“But there were also players – like me! – who weren’t as good anymore when they were 33 – not that I was so good when I was 26!
“I don’t know what the future will bring, but what I do know is that Mo is in a very good place at the moment.”
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