- Time for the new cycle at Liverpool, says Slot
- Reminds fans about last summer’s exit
- Hails Mohamed Salah’s legacy at Anfield
Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson are bringing an end to their Liverpool careers after nine seasons at Anfield, and Arne Slot believes that the exits mark the start of a new cycle at the club.
The Egyptian had a public falling-out with Slot in December after the 3-3 draw at Leeds United, when he called out the manager for regularly dropping him from the starting XI. He announced his exit in March, sending shockwaves among fans who had not expected him to leave a year before his contract ended.
Robertson came close to leaving the club in January amid interest from Tottenham, but he stayed at the club for the rest of the season. The left-back has also announced that he will be exiting at the end of the season when his contract expires.
Arne Slot admits ‘rough time’ with Mohamed Salah
Salah played a key role last season, when Liverpool won the Premier League title and reached the Carabao Cup final. However, things have not changed this season and the winger’s form saw the Dutchman bench him in multiple matches.
Speaking to Men In Blazers this week, Slot admitted that he has nothing but respect for the winger despite their ‘rough time’ this season. He said that the 33-year-old always does his best on the pitch, but he had to take the tough call and said:
“Of course, the most meaningful [memories] are the ones with the most emotions, so the simple one for me to say is when we won the league and all the goals [Salah] scored over there. But even this season has been meaningful for me. So I can only speak for me, but we had a rough time in the middle of the season, the two of us, when I didn’t play him as much as he would have wanted me to play him.”
“But I always felt respect on both sides and I always felt that even in these situations, which are always difficult, that you even get to know each other better. So it is the good and the bad times that live in your head and he has been an unbelievable player for me. Because he has been a big part of why we won the league last season and now he is leaving, like unfortunately so many others have already left who have done so many great things for this club.”
Salah has 46 goals and 32 assists in his 91 matches under SLot, the second-most he has done under any manager in his career, following Jurgen Klopp with 211 goals and 90 assists in 349 games.
Liverpool had a transition last summer, reminded Slot
Slot sent a message to the Liverpool fans, saying that the club were undergoing a transition from last summer. He claimed that the exit of Trent Alexander-Arnold was a big hit for the club and said:
“You almost start to forget that a year ago we lost Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid. So, unfortunately, [losing big players] is just a part of football. Cycles come to an end. Four or five years ago was the biggest part of that cycle when they won the Premier League and the Champions League, picked up 97 and 92 points in the league.”
He added that the exits of Salah and Robertson make it even worse this summer, and the club needs to do much more than just add replacements, as the two heading for the exit are invaluable. He said:
“Mo Salah leaving – there can never be a bigger change than that. He has been a player who for eight or nine years has been so successful at this club. Scored so many goals. I think Robbo (Robertson) deserves unbelievable credit as well because he has been so influential as well. But to replace a player that almost every season scored, I don’t exactly know, I think every season about 25 goals or more, I think that is a legacy that you don’t see a lot.”
Slot is hoping for Alexander Isak to step up next season and help out with the goals that Salah used to chip in with, and said:
“So that will always be the biggest change and we have to make sure we will never be able to replace him with that amount of goals from one player but the good news is that Alexander Isak, who we already bought last season, hasn’t been able to play a lot at his best, at his peak and he will be next season. So we have to look not too much at one player [for goals], we have to spread it around the whole team to replace players like Mo but also players like Robertson.”
Liverpool have been linked with Yan Diomande and Bradley Barcola as the key targets for the summer. Ibrahim Mbaye has also been linked with the Reds, while a move for Michael Olise has been blocked by Bayern Munich even before the summer window started.
