Liverpool manager Steven Gerrard has revealed he has spoken to Mohamed Salah
Liverpool manager Steven Gerrard has revealed that he had a clear phone call with winger Mohamed Salah during talks with the Egyptian striker earlier this year.
After being left on the bench for the third game in a row the star accused the club of throwing him under the bus and said his relationship with head coach Arne Slot was damaged after the 3-3 draw at Leeds United in December.
The Reds have never been close to the level they were in during Slott’s first spell in charge when Salah scored 29 goals and registered 18 assists as the club won their 20th title.
The 33-year-old was rewarded for this fine form with a two-year contract extension, but has since announced he will leave the club this summer, halfway through his contract.
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And speaking on The Overlap, when asked if he was surprised by Salah’s decision to leave, Gerrard said: “No, not at all. I think it’s for everyone. I think the time is right in my opinion.
“Especially after – obviously he had a falling out with the manager. I don’t know at what level but he made a conversation that I think he will regret more than that.
“But that told me there was a problem there. I think again, even going back before that, Liverpool as a football club only wanted to give Mo Salah one year. Instead of two, but because he had such an exceptional season and his numbers were high, they gave him two years.
“For me, I have seen it as one year in that position. We have all played in those years and I just think for everyone. [best] interest for it to end, but also end on Mo Salah’s terms.
“I talked to him around that interview at the time and I said to him ‘don’t do what you did and get under a cloud.’ I spoke to him directly.
“He sends me messages more often, or I send him a message, more than I should do if I go somewhere with Leo. Just so Leo can see him. I’m not close to him, but it gave me the opportunity to say ‘You’ve been here for eight or nine years, you’ve come here and got this legacy. Just continue your ways in the right way”.
Asked by Ian Wright how Salah reacted to the conversation, Gerrard revealed: “There’s still a bit of emotion from the incident. He was down and out of the team at the time. He was angry.
“But, I thought it would have been a shame if he left in January and just left.”
Gary Neville asked Gerrard if it was an issue at the time and if he could agree with Salah, the former Reds player said: “I’m not sure, I don’t know. [if Salah could have left in January].
“I understand both sides of it. Now that I’m on my own, I understand both sides of it. I had the same thing with Brendan. [Rodgers] but when I look back now, I came out of the game with a weak feeling, you understand from where Brendan is.
“Maybe you’re not the same player at 34 or 35. There’s no real way you have to play every minute of every game just because you’re a manager, but at that time, it’s not easy when you’re in a team or a team and you’re about to play Man United for example, and you’re at the bottom.
“You look at the players who are playing and you think you’re just as good, if not better than those players. It’s difficult at a player’s level. I had a situation at Rangers with Jermain Defoe, who was good for me, up around the pitch.
“The best professional you will work with, he wanted to play more and play every minute of every game because he was in the position I was in under Brendan. But as a manager, you have to do what is right and best for the team and if someone is out of shape, or not playing, or can’t do the job you want, as a manager you have to make big decisions.”
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