Champions League 2024-25: Mohamed Salah’s contract comments no distraction for Liverpool, says Arne Slot
The HinduLiverpool boss Arne Slot kept his cards close to his chest regarding Mohamed Salah’s contract negotiations after the striker’s recent comments that he is “more out than in,” but the manager insisted the issue is not a distraction to the team. Slot’s men put their 100 per cent Champions League record on the line on Wednesday when they host reigning champion Real Madrid, four nights after Salah scored twice in Liverpool’s 3-2 win at Southampton and then said he had yet to receive an offer to stay. Slot said defender Trent Alexander-Arnold will be in Wednesday’s squad but is not fit to start, while Alisson, Diogo Jota and Federico Chiesa remain sidelined with injuries. Real Madrid is 18th in the Champions League’s new 36-team format, where the top eight teams qualify automatically for the last 16 and the next 16 enter a two-legged playoff to join them.