8 hours ago
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Steven Gerrard has called on Mohamed Salah to apologize for his recent outburst against Arne Slot and Liverpool, while claiming he hopes “common sense” prevails and the Egyptian can return to the team against Brighton & Hove Albion.
It is not clear at this stage whether Salah will be involved in Saturday’s game at Anfield, the winger’s last before he departs for the Africa Cup of Nations. Should the player complete a January transfer to Saudi Arabia, it’s possible Salah has played his final match for the Reds.
He was omitted from the squad to face Inter Milan on Tuesday, and Slot will reveal whether Salah will play ahead of the Seagulls match, following his scandalous interview in the Elland Road mixed zone on Saturday.
Speaking in a TNT Sports round table earlier this week, Gerrard stated Salah was “wrong” to say he has been thrown under the bus by the club.
The ex-Liverpool captain was back in front of the TNT cameras for the Champions League encounter between Real Madrid and Manchester City, and offered his revised opinion following the win over Inter.
“As someone who is connected to the club, got a lot of respect for the club and the players and the hierarchy there, what I tried to do on the show is try and get a bit of common sense and pour a bit of cold water on the situation,” said the 45-year-old.
“We all know that he's done this explosive interview. He said a couple of lines within the interview that are wrong, and I think he needs to apologize for that.
“I hope that Virgil van Dijk, as his captain, as his leader, will help put that together. I've been in that situation myself.
“The reality is, as a Liverpool fan now, Mohamed Salah is a world-class footballer, and he's Liverpool's best goalscorer.
“He helped win the league last year, so we can't all have short memories. He's really important for the football club, unless the situation's a lot worse than what we're seeing.
“But from a fan point of view and an ex-player point of view, I wanted to put some common sense into it. He's a world-class footballer.
“We need him, and hopefully the situation can be sorted out in the coming hours and days because no one, from a Liverpool perspective, needs this to go on.
“The result last night helped. They were fantastic. It was a top team performance. Another lift would be for this situation to be sorted out by the weekend, and he's in the squad for the Brighton game.
“But the players last night and Arne Slot's game plan and the tactics were magnificent. It's the best Liverpool performance we've seen for some time. So hopefully, we start getting back to talking about the team's results and performances.”
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