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Slot stunned by contract talk straight after Champions League loss

Liverpool threw away their first leg advantage to be dumped out of Europe

Slot was not happy when post-match talk veered away from the match

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By WILL CASTLE

Published: 19:40 EDT, 11 March 2025 | Updated: 19:43 EDT, 11 March 2025

Arne Slot couldn't believe he was asked about the contract situation of three star players in the immediate aftermath of Liverpool's gut-wrenching Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.

The Reds were dumped out of Europe's premier competition on penalties, with the game forced to spot-kicks after Ousmane Dembele's early goal cancelled out Liverpool's advantage from the first leg.

Gianluigi Donnarumma came up trumps in the shootout, taken in front of Anfield's away end, denying Curtis Jones and Darwin Nunez from the spot to catapult the Parisiens into the quarter-finals.

A rare low point of a season that before tonight had only had its highs, Slot couldn't help but fume when a reporter posed him with the same recurring question about the futures of Mo Salah, Virgil Van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold as he continued to come to terms with defeat.

'It is creative to come up with the contract situation,' he said. 'That is the last thing I am thinking of.

'Liverpool showed themselves and hopefully they have more luck next year.'

PSG beat Liverpool 4-1 on penalties to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League

It was a dramatic ending to a breathtaking last-16 tie between two European heavyweights

Arne Slot was not happy to see post-match talk veer back to a recurring issue of contracts

The contracts of Salah, Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold have been a fascinating subplot of Liverpool's success this year, with all three expiring this summer.

With the trio representing the spine of Liverpool's team - the captain, the talisman and the creator - Reds fans have been waiting on tenterhooks for at least one of them to pen a new deal.

However, nothing significant has been heard from Liverpool's official channels on the matter as of yet.

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