Arne Slot has paid tribute to Mohamed Salah after the Egyptian forward announced his departure from Liverpool at the end of the season.
The Liverpool forward is set to bring the curtain down on his illustrious Anfield career at the end of the season, concluding a nine-year spell in which he established himself as one of the modern Premier League’s defining figures.
Slot highlighted the forward’s exceptional qualities that have allowed him to remain among the world’s elite for over a decade. Having worked closely with Salah for nearly two seasons, Slot pointed to the Egyptian’s professionalism, consistency and mentality as key factors behind his sustained success at the highest level of the game. Meanwhile, Robbie Fowler has issued an important reminder to Liverpool before Salah's departure.
In an interview with the club's website, the Dutchman said: "I knew, so it wasn't new news to me, but I think it was very good to hear and see all the reactions of his teammates, but also from everywhere around the world, for what he has done for this football club and for football in general."
"I've mainly seen this as a fan, so watching football, seeing him playing at Liverpool, doing all these special things that he's done for this club. Of course, in the fixtures against [Manchester] City but in all the other fixtures as well. He broke record after record after record.
"Then I started working with him and already the first day I was impressed by his professionalism because as with any season, it starts with a test that shows how much they did in the off-season and he beat all of them. He was the fittest player that came back, and I think that's the ideal situation that you want as a manager: that your star player comes back as fit as he did. He had nothing to prove, but for himself he had a lot to prove because Mo always thinks he has to prove something every three days. That hunger never stops and that is something that I find most special about him."
Slot added: "So many good players around the world [and] he's definitely one of them in the last 10 years, that everybody talks about being one of the best there is and was in the last 10 years. To show that hunger every three days, that professionalism, that commitment to the club, to the team, to wanting to score again, always wanting to play – when you take him out three minutes before the end, he's like, 'Maybe I could have scored one extra!' – that is what stands out for me.
"Everything he's done for the club, but the moment I started working with him I knew it after one day, let alone after a few weeks or months, that it isn't a coincidence that he's been so influential in the last 10 years in football."
Despite confirmation that he will leave Anfield, there is little doubt that Salah remains fully focused on helping Liverpool finish the 2025–26 campaign strongly. The Reds face a demanding run-in, beginning with a trip to Manchester City in the FA Cup this weekend, while a Champions League quarter-final clash with Paris Saint-Germain also lies ahead.
Slot said: "Hopefully he can make his legacy even more special in the upcoming weeks and months where we still play for something special. But he will always leave this club as a legend because, as I said, the way this club has performed in the last seasons is also for a large part due to what he's done for it."