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Mohamed Salah has criticised the “harsh” reception Trent Alexander-Arnold received at Anfield last Sunday and called for Liverpool fans to give the departing defender the sendoff 20 years of service deserves.
Salah admitted he was surprised and saddened by the boos Alexander-Arnold received from a large section of the Liverpool crowd before, during and after his substitute appearance against Arsenal. It was the 26-year-old’s first outing since announcing he would be leaving his boyhood club when his contract expires at the end of the season, with a free transfer to Real Madrid lined up.
Liverpool players made clear their dismay at Alexander-Arnold’s treatment after Sunday’s game. In an interview with Sky Sports, recorded this week in Dubai, the Egypt international added his voice to a controversy that has threatened to overshadow the end of a triumphant season for the new Premier League champions.
Salah said: “I told him [Alexander-Arnold] yesterday: ‘Do not give me eye contact in your farewell,’ because I really love him. He deserves the best farewell leaving the club. He has done a lot for the city and a lot for the club. He was probably the best homegrown player in the club’s history and he needed a new challenge. He spoke to me about it. It is his decision, for sure.
“He is 26 years old and a league title winner twice. What more could he have done? He needs to change and challenge himself. People do not know about it much, but he is 20 years in the club. It is so tough mentally for someone to be 20 years in a club. It is the place you love, yes. I love the place. But going every day to the same place, mentally you could be depressed. I really wish him the best. I will always be in contact with him. The fans have been harsh with him. He didn’t deserve that because he gave it all to the fans.”
Asked if he was saddened by events at Anfield last weekend, Salah replied: “Yes, absolutely. I was surprised because it is not how we react as Liverpool fans. We shouldn’t react this way with anyone. We always appreciate the people who came here, even if it was for six months. Imagine someone who gave his all for 20 years. It shouldn’t be like this and I hope it will change in the next game – Brighton or the last game of the season – because he deserves a farewell.
“It is his decision. I know 20 years at the club is so tough. People think it is easy to make a decision and just stay. No, it’s not. I didn’t want to speak to him much because I want him in my team, but I understand because being in one place for 20 years is not easy.”
Unlike Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool’s leading goalscorer recently committed himself to the club for another two years. Salah admitted he was only 10% sure he would sign a new contract at Anfield at the start of the season because of the approach taken towards older players by the club’s American owner, Fenway Sports Group.
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He said: “I’m not attacking them, just I know how they deal with players over 30 in the past and I know how the situation will be, so I never expect that the club was going to be like: ‘OK, two years with the money, and all of us are happy’. So I didn’t expect that I’m going to stay. It’s in my head, based on club philosophy, [that] I will not stay. I know how the club works, it’s not something that is bad, it’s just we see how they deal with a situation like this in the past.
“I think it took, like, six months for negotiations to start going really quick, and I think from January it’s like: ‘OK, now things are getting better and better.’ So it took a while. I think the club was testing me to see if I can still provide or not! I didn’t want more than that [two years].”
