Arne Slot should tell Mo Salah to stop moaning, grow up and prove him wrong

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If he chose to, Mo Salah could sit on his backside, not try a leg in training, not be bothered whether Liverpool win, lose or draw … and pick up his four hundred grand a week. He could then decide when he wants to turn that into at least a million a week by going to Saudi Arabia. No dramas. No words.

So, Salah’s interview after the draw at Elland Road might well have been disrespectful, it might well have been selfish, it might well have undermined the ethos of any football club, but at least he has got the major hump about being put on the bench. At least he cares.

Yeah, about himself, most might say. And they would have a point. And Slot would be well within his rights to deem Salah’s detailed critique of the club and its manager unforgivable and make it clear the current Footballer of the Year no longer has a Liverpool future.

But these are grown men. There is no reason why they cannot sort this out in Slot’s office on Monday morning. And no, not like that. For Slot, it might mean sacrificing principles for practicalities.

Principles say the manager’s authority should not be disrespected in the way Salah has disrespected Slot. Principles say no player, no matter what he has done for the club and no matter how good he is, should be exempt from being dropped.

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Practicalities say Liverpool’s chances of winning anything this season will be diminished if Salah leaves the club. Practicalities say an angry, fired-up Salah should be a major asset for the manager to use.

It is beyond question that Salah was the most important player in Liverpool’s Premier League-winning season. Twenty-nine goals and 18 assists in that Premier League campaign do not lie.

The defence of that title already looks doomed but Liverpool could still be seriously competitive in the Champions League. But even though his contributions have not been stellar so far this season, it is hard not to feel Liverpool’s chances of going all the way in Europe would be dependent on having an in-form Salah at Slot’s disposal.

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What needs to happen for there to be an unlikely rapprochement? How can some sort of harmony be restored?

Not easily, that is for sure. When your star player says he no longer has a relationship with the manager and that the club has thrown him under a bus, things look terminal.

But a star player and a manager do not have to get on famously. It is business. Even if he made his views crystal clear in that interview, Salah owes Slot an explanation.

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For his part, Slot must surely have been planning to play Salah against Inter Milan on Tuesday. An old school go-and-prove-me-wrong message might work a treat.

When things go wrong between player and manager, time can heal and, after next weekend, Salah could be away from the club for a month. Slot might want to show who is boss and freeze Salah out.

Or he might tell Salah to stop moaning, grow up and prove his manager wrong And for all the outrage over Salah’s comments, that would be the best option.

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