Lovren accuses Slot of failing Salah as Liverpool pair's rift laid bare

Dejan Lovren has made his most pointed accusations yet about the fractured relationship between Mohamed Salah and Arne Slot, insisting the pair simply did not get on and that Jurgen Klopp’s continued presence at Liverpool would have produced a very different ending to Salah’s nine-year stay at Anfield.

Salah departed Liverpool at the end of the season following the club’s fifth-place Premier League finish — his worst campaign in front of goal as a Red, which culminated in Slot dropping him from the starting lineup in an attempt to arrest the team’s slide. Salah responded publicly, accusing the Dutchman of having “thrown him under the bus”, a rare and damaging show of frustration that added to the pressure on a manager who was himself sacked once the campaign concluded. Andoni Iraola has since been appointed as Slot’s replacement.

Speaking to WinWin, Lovren was unambiguous about the dynamic between the two men. “They didn’t have a good relationship. Let’s put it simply,” the Croatian said. “With Klopp, he had a really good relationship. It wasn’t always perfect, but they knew each other very well, they trusted each other, they liked each other, and Mo gave everything on the pitch for Klopp, and Klopp gave him that trust. But with Slot it was the opposite. It’s that simple.”

Lovren, who remains close to Salah, argued that Klopp possessed a particular understanding of how to manage the Egyptian through difficult patches — something he believes Slot conspicuously lacked. “When Mo wasn’t performing well sometimes, Klopp knew what he had to do with him,” he said. “How to protect him, how to keep him even if he wasn’t performing well, he needed to keep him for the next game. But as Mo said, they threw him.”

The former defender also suggested that had Klopp extended his time at the club, Salah’s exit could have been far more dignified. “Maybe if Klopp had stayed another year, or two, he might have left in a much better way,” Lovren added.

Lovren reserved particular criticism for the media’s treatment of Salah, arguing that scrutiny of a single poor season ignored the Egyptian’s extraordinary record across the previous eight or nine years. “It’s not harsh. It’s disgusting,” he said. “Why didn’t they talk about him like this for the past eight or nine years? Okay, one season, and then he’s the target again.”

Salah himself had signalled his dissatisfaction publicly after a 4-1 defeat at Aston Villa late in the season, posting on social media that Liverpool needed to return to the “heavy metal football” associated with the Klopp era — a remark widely read as a direct criticism of Slot’s methods. A three-time PFA Players’ Player of the Year, Salah leaves as one of the most decorated players in the club’s history, though the circumstances of his departure have cast a shadow over what might otherwise have been a celebrated farewell.