Former Teammate Calls Out Liverpool For Lack Of Respect Towards Salah

Former Liverpool defender, Dejan Lovren, has stated that the club is not demonstrating sufficient “respect” towards Mohamed Salah, who is likely to depart Anfield as a free agent this summer.

Salah’s current Liverpool contract is due to expire at the end of June, and he has yet to agree on a new deal.

The fact that the 32-year-old is enjoying one of the all-time great individual seasons has only added fuel to the fire, with Salah himself not afraid of speaking out.

Lovren, who is nearing the end of his career at PAOK in Greece, played alongside Salah for only two seasons at Liverpool.

However, the two developed a close friendship during that period and continued to stay in contact.

The veteran center-back has admitted advising Salah to put himself first.

“I have to be careful what I say now because I know a lot of things. Everyone wants him to stay, and I called him one day and said, ‘Mo, you have to think about yourself. Look at everything you’ve given this club and what you can still give’,” Lovren told WinWin.

“In the end, I came to the conclusion that the club doesn’t respect him enough.”

Salah went public in November with the assertion that he was “more out than in” at Liverpool after not receiving a contract offer. A deal was reportedly put on the table by early December, but Lovren suggests that the Egyptian national icon is still “closer to leaving than staying at the moment”.

Lovren added, “Money is an important factor, but he is worth more than money and the question is: who will replace him? Who will give you what Mohamed Salah offers? If you want to replace him, I think you need to spend €200m, and the question remains will he offer what Salah offers?”

Salah is already eligible to sign a pre-contract agreement with an overseas side. But while Lovren claims his friend has “started thinking about a new step”, there isn’t a “specific club” on the scene.

Despite everything, Lovren thinks Salah would prefer to stay, “He loves Liverpool a lot, and he wants to stay, and that’s the most important part. Maybe he sees himself retiring there, I’m not entirely sure about that. But, in the end, it’s about other people!”