Liverpool 2-0 Brighton: match review
The former Liverpool chief executive Peter Moore has been discussing Mo Salah’s recent comments.
Former Liverpool chief executive Peter Moore believes that Fenway Sports Group would sack Arne Slot to keep Mohamed Salah happy.
Salah’s recent dispute with the Reds and head coach Slot has been well-documented. Despite being Liverpool’s third-all time top scorer and firing 34 goals last season to spearhead the Premier League title triumph, the winger has fallen down the pecking order in recent weeks.
Slot has insisted that he wants Salah to remain at Anfield and there is ‘no issue to resolve’ after holding talks at the AXA Training Centre last week.
What’s been said
Moores, who served as CEO between 2017-2020, feels that Salah’s outburst was not an attempt to get Slot sacked. But he feels that the culture of Liverpool means that Slot will always come out on top.
Speaking on Business of Sport, Moore said: Before a game, there is a Tifo that is passed around and two banners. One says 'unity is strength' that ties to the socialist background of the socialism in the city and a working class background in a city that is emphasised by its football club. Secondly, a banner that shows the managers. It doesn't show Keegan, Toshack, Rush and Daliglish is shows Shankly, Paisley, Arne Slot now, obviously Jurgen Klopp.
The fans understand the core is the manager and the club is so big, I don't care who you are and how much you're adored you cannot - like Mohamed is trying to do - undermine the manager. It's happened not many times but in the past but the manager always wins. The fans understand the hierarchical structure of the football club and what needs to happen. If Mo thinks they're going to fire the manager to keep him happy, and I don't think he does, that is an ill-placed thought.”
Moore on Salah’s agent
Amid the fracas, Salah has been linked with a potential move to Saudi Arabia in the January transfer window.
Salah is represented by his long-time agent Ramy Abbas Issa. Moores described Abbas as a ‘fiery’ character but does not believe he’d want Salah to leave Liverpool so he could pick up a seven-figure fee for brokering a transfer to the Saudi Pro League.
“His agent is fiery, Ramy Abbas,” Moores added. “Mo is his No.1, if not his only client. I think Mo has to eat a little bit of humble pie. How he does, how that is phrased that is important. More importantly, he's got to sit down, it may have already happened, with the head coach behind closed doors and hash this out; no different from you or I would do with an employee is disgruntled and feel they've been poorly treated. It's an employee who thinks he's been poorly treated by the company.
“There have been many incidents when agents have simply moved their players around from club to club to club. I always thought this about Nicholas Anelka. He seemed like a really good guy and a good player but there aren’t many clubs he didn’t play for. Somebody picked up 15 per cent every time that was happening.
“In this incident, Ramy is smart enough to understand. He negotiated, look by all accounts Mo is getting close to £400,000 per week. Ramy will get a little piece of that but I don't think in this instance, it is Ramy saying let's get out of here so I can pick up a few more million pounds because the Saudis or someone is going to buy Mo. I don't think that's the case at all.”
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