Liverpool manager Arne Slot gave a glowing assessment of Mohamed Salah, pinpointing the forward’s unrelenting drive as the thing that’s kept him at the very top of the game for over a decade.
Salah last week confirmed he’s leaving Anfield at the end of the current season , bringing a close to a nine-year stint that has seen him score 255 goals in 435 games and rack up nine medals along the way.
Speaking at Liverpool’s AXA Training Centre, Slot mused about how the rest of the world reacted to the news when it first came out. Having had a good long look at Salah for almost two full seasons, the Dutch coach said the reaction from fans and teammates alike was no real surprise to him.
Slot remembered that from day one of pre-season training, he was struck by how completely dedicated Salah was. He pointed to the fitness test results at the start of the new season and said that Salah came back in better nick than anyone else on the team, even though he had nothing left to prove to anyone.
That drive, Slot said, is what truly sets Salah apart – he approaches every single game with a burning desire to do well & score, even getting frustrated if he gets subbed with a few minutes to go. That level of hunger has been sustained over ten years at the very top – that’s what Slot finds so remarkable about him.
The Liverpool boss also looked back on what he saw of Salah before he took over – watching from afar as he broke record after record and formed one of the most famous attacking trios in Premier League history with Sadio Mane & Roberto Firmino. Under Slot last season, Salah had one of his best ever seasons, being top of the league in both goals and assists – and to do that in his thirties is an unbelievable achievement.
With the departure confirmed, Slot wants the final few weeks of the season to give Salah a fitting last stand to add to his already massive legacy. Liverpool still have an FA Cup tie with Manchester City, a Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint Germain, and a few key Premier League matches left to play.
Slot also said he’s counting on the Anfield faithful to get behind not just Salah but the whole squad as the club goes for some silverware. He admits Salah deserves a proper sendoff in every remaining home game but is urging the fans to use their energy to back the whole team – he cites the atmosphere against Galatasary earlier in the season as the benchmark. He’s hoping the fans can bring that same level of intensity right through to the end.
Salah is expected to make his final home appearance on May 24th when Brentford visit Anfield for the last game of the league season.
