Rewind one year and it had felt as though Mohamed Salah was happier than ever at Liverpool.
The Egyptian legend was scoring for fun and looked much more settled and relaxed under Arne Slot.
There had been some controversy surrounding Salah during the last months of Jurgen Klopp’s tenure with Liverpool, as reports began emerging that the pair had not ever truly seen eye-to-eye.
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Slot appeared to remedy any issue with Salah immediately, however, getting the best out of the veteran who repaid him with a stunning individual season.
In the midst of Salah’s outburst against Slot and Liverpool on Saturday, it can be easy to forget that just 10 short months ago his representative Ramy Abbas Issa made a point of praising the Liverpool head coach on social media.
Arne Slot had the Mohamed Salah camp on-side
It is not especially hard to see where things have gone wrong in Salah and Slot’s relationship this season.
Liverpool bought players which did not fit into an attacking system with Salah, this has led to diminishing returns from the wide man and a subsequent deserved taking out of the team.
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Salah obviously has taken that personally, although it would be a huge surprise to learn that Slot does indeed have any kind of personal issue with his star player.
Nevertheless, when things were going brilliantly for Liverpool back in February, Abbas was full of praise for Slot.
“Excellent at his job,” the Colombian wrote in response to a fan media post about Liverpool’s then seven-point lead on top of the Premier League table. With Slot featured large in the post, it was clear who Abbas’ comments were aimed at.
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Given Salah was still in contract negotiations with Liverpool at the time, Abbas’ words caused a frenzy online. As always with his representatives’ public comments, it is highly unlikely they were made without the go-ahead from Salah. It is sad to see how quickly things have unravelled from here.
Is there still a way back for Salah and Slot?
When Salah and his camp have spoken previously in regard to contract renewals or anything else at Liverpool, it has often felt like an opening salvo, or moves as part of a wider game.
However, there was a difference in the 33-year-old’s words on Saturday. They felt final.
Nevertheless, the Liverpool owners are continuing to back Slot, no matter how Salah feels about him currently. That means that if any part of him can see a future at Anfield, the Egyptian King must be open to peace talks.
From Slot’s side, you can imagine that while he will not have enjoyed hearing Salah’s comments, he is not the kind of coach who will blow up and stubbornly refuse to hear the player’s side of the story.
If the Dutchman is open to reconciliation then Salah must be too. There is clearly a respect there, and if Slot can find a way to make Salah feel that, maybe things don’t have to end on this sour note.
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