I do not regret punishing Salah… and I did not make the decision to leave him

Liverpool coach Arnie Slot confirmed that he has no regrets about the way he dealt with Egyptian star Mohamed Salah, stressing that the decision to leave the Reds at the end of the current season was a personal decision that the player took completely alone.
The British newspaper “The Guardian” reported that the Liverpool coach refused to reveal the reasons or timing of Salah’s decision to leave the club, during his appearance before the media for the first time since the Egyptian international announced his departure. Slott believes that the matter should be left to Salah himself to explain the reasons for his departure 12 months before the end of his contract.
It was asked to Slot that he is seen in some circles as the “bad man” who caused Salah’s departure, especially after the player’s public criticism in December following the Leeds match, to which he responded, saying: “But this impression generally exists now, isn’t it?”, referring to his image among some Liverpool fans after this season’s disappointments.
However, Slott stressed that he would not have handled the situation differently with the club legend, explaining: “Yes, I am satisfied with the way I managed the matter. When I look at this season, I think I made some decisions that could have been better, but I am not talking about my handling of this matter specifically with Salah. I do not regret much of what I did during a year and a half together, or even a little more.”
Sloat continued: “Assuming that Salah would want to leave if he did not play means that he would have left a year and a half ago if that were the case. I remember the West Ham away match when he was not playing (under Jurgen Klopp in April 2024). I was not here at the time, and Mo did not decide to leave.”
Slott said: “The only one who can talk about this is Salah himself. You are assuming that he wants to leave because he was gone for six days. I am not sure what you are saying is correct. I would be surprised if Mo did not share his thoughts on why he made this decision at some point. It is not my right to do that, it is up to him. I will not go into all these assumptions, I will be careful about them.”
The Liverpool coach also denied that allowing Salah to leave for free this summer was an indication that the club was happy with his departure, and responded by saying: “These are your words. I think Mo fully deserved the right to decide when he thought he should leave. He has given a lot to this club, and he has to make his own decision and this is what he did.”