Arne Slot is treating Mo Salah with complete contempt – and it appears to be personal
Liverpool fell to defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League quarter-final first leg, but an intriguing subplot to come from defeat in France was Arne Slot’s snub of outgoing club legend Mo Salah
Mohamed Salah didn’t play against Paris Saint-Germain(Image: Tnani Badreddine/Getty Images)
The long goodbye wasn’t supposed to feel like this.
Mo Salah’s impending departure from Liverpool is deserving of an outpouring of gratitude and respect. A fitting tribute to what Salah has contributed to English football in the thick end of a decade on these shores.
Salah has been one of the greatest footballers of his generation. Someone who should be classed among the genuine legends of Liverpool’s long and storied history. Earning comparison with the likes of Kenny Dalglish and Steven Gerrard.
But one person who appears not to subscribe to the legacy Salah is poised to leave behind, is his current manager Arne Slot. There was no greater proof of this than with what happened in the French capital on Wednesday night.
Paris Saint Germain had spent most of the evening wiping the floor with Slot’s flops, without getting the full rewards. But not content with leaving Salah out of his starting XI, Slot proceeded to ignore the Egyptian altogether.
At a time when Liverpool were 2-0 down, had not had a single shot on target, and needed a goal from somewhere like never before. In short, Slot delivered a sub to Salah which appeared personal.
To describe Slot’s decision making as strange would be an understatement. It smacks of the fact Slot has not forgiven Salah for throwing him under the bus earlier this season.
Yet with crass but blissful ignorance, all Slot is achieving is undermining his own position as manager. Which is hard to believe, considering how thin the ice is that he is now walking on.
Salah deserves much more appreciation than this. But instead, he is now the most high-profile victim of Slot’s utter contempt.
Arne Slot thanks supporters after the defeat to PSG in Paris(Image: 2026 Eurasia Sport Images)
And the overriding feeling from a neutral point of view is one of great sadness.
Salah sprinkled stardust on English football. He helped make Liverpool great again – and did so with an attitude other footballers should aspire to replicate. But he now finds himself cast aside like a piece of rubbish Slot doesn’t want littering up the place.
His influence and achievements count for nothing.
Salah will be gone from Anfield in a few weeks. And the English game will miss him. But who is going to miss Slot when he disappears?
And when this happens and he wants someone to blame, Slot need look no further than at himself.
