Arne Slot made up his mind on Mohamed Salah after moment in first training session
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Liverpool FC NewsFeaturesMohamed SalahLiverpool coach Arne Slot spoke effusively of Mohamed Salah's first training session under the Dutch manager last summer amid a year full of turmoil for the Reds duoArne Slot and Mohamed Salah won the Premier League together last season(Image: 2026 Molly Darlington)Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah has seen his combined goals/assists tally shrink from a Premier League record 47 in 2024/25 to just 11 this season.Salah's relationship with coach Arne Slot has notably diminished in year two, and the Egyptian international will now leave the club at the end of the campaign following his announcement video last week.The pair's relationship may be severed now — and Slot may also be gone at the end of the year — but that doesn't mean it was always that way. Speaking on the team's website, Liverpool's Dutch manager hailed Salah's professionalism while sharing an anecdote from the team's 2024 training camp.READ MORE: Liverpool striker Alexander Isak set to return to team training tomorrowREAD MORE: Drastic Mohamed Salah farewell plan given green light by Arne Slot - 'completely fine'"I've mainly seen this as a fan, so watching football, seeing him playing at Liverpool, doing all these special things," Slot said of his pre-existing view of Salah."Then I started working with him, and already the first day I was impressed by his professionalism because, as with any season, it starts with a test that shows how much they did in the off-season, and he beat all of them," he continued.Mohamed Salah celebrates his 2025 Player of the Year award(Image: Getty Images)"He was the fittest player that came back, and I think that's the ideal situation that you want as a manager: that your star player comes back as fit as he did."Salah won the FWA Player of the Year for a third time last year as Slot's Reds comfortably lapped the Premier League field to win the club's first league title since 2019/20.Mohamed Salah spoke angerly about his playing time after a December draw at Leeds(Image: Getty Images)The Egyptian may be having a down year this campaign, but Slot emphasized that it shouldn't define him.
"He had nothing to prove, but for himself, he had a lot to prove because Mo always thinks he has to prove something every three days," the Dutch manager added."That hunger never stops, and that is something that I find most special about him...."He will definitely leave as a legend of this club."READ MORE: Liverpool confirms new fixture date for Chelsea clashREAD MORE: Arne Slot finally breaks silence on Mohamed Salah announcing his Liverpool exit - 'I knew'Salah expressed upset with Slot when he was left on the bench for a third straight game in December. “I can’t believe … I’m sitting on the bench for 90 minutes,” he told the press after the game.“The third time on the bench, I think, for the first time in my career.
I’m very, very disappointed. Now I’m sitting on the bench, and I don’t know why."Choose Liverpool.com as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.Mohamed SalahArne SlotLiverpool FC