Liverpool, Dec 3
Following Mohamed Salah’s comments after Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Manchester City on Sunday, in which the Egyptian claimed this might be the last time he will be facing the defending champions, head coach Arne Slot joked about the 115 accusations pending against City and suggested the side may not be in the league next season.
"Maybe Mo knows more about the 115 accusations for (Man City) not to be in the Premier League next season and so expects them to not be in the Premier League next season," said Arne Slot.
The Dutch head coach made it a point to reiterate that he was just joking about the ongoing situation.
"The boring answer is always the same. This is not the place for me to talk about Salah's contract and maybe already, I've said too much about the joke I just made. That will probably get the headlines. It was a joke. I repeat, it was a joke."
The ongoing case against City is expected to reach its conclusion in January 2025 and can also see the club getting relegated if found breaching the regulations. The alleged rule violations include failing to submit accurate financial data for nine respective seasons, withholding information about former manager Roberto Mancini's compensation during his four seasons at the team from 2009 to 2013, not cooperating with an investigation and handing over documents as required over five seasons from 2018-19 to 2022-23, and failing to disclose compensation information of former players, including Yaya Toure throughout six seasons, from 2010 to 2015–16.
Salah’s contract, which runs out at the end of the season, has been the topic of many conversations in recent weeks. Despite the Egyptian being in red hot form, he has not yet begun contract talks with the side which suggests he may be on his way out of the Merseyside club at the end of the season
“Honestly it’s in my head. Until now this is the last City game I will play for Liverpool so I was just going to enjoy it. The atmosphere was incredible so I will enjoy every second here. Hopefully, we just win the league and will see what will happen,” Salah said to Sky Sports after the game against Manchester City.