Arne Slot has spoken for the first time since Mohamed Salah signed a new two-year contract at Liverpool.
Salah, 32, is one of Liverpool’s all-time greatest players, with the Egyptian having scored a remarkable 243 goals in 394 games for the club since joining from Roma in 2017 for an initial £36.5million fee.
The forward has won eight trophies at Anfield and remains integral to Arne Slot’s side as they close in on the Premier League title.
Salah’s previous contract was set to expire in the summer and speculation over his future has been a major talking point throughout the campaign, with the forward regularly providing cryptic answers when questioned over his future.
However, on Friday, the club confirmed he had put pen to paper on a new deal until 2027 worth £350,000-per-week, ending the dramatic saga.
Liverpool have broken club policy in offering him a new deal, as Fenway Sports group are typically reluctant to hand out new contracts to players over 30.
Arne Slot has spoken for the first time since Mohamed Salah signed a new two-year contract
The Egyptian star has extended his contract until 2027 on a deal worth £350,000-per-week
And Reds boss Slot expressed his delight at the news when speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of Liverpool’s clash against West Ham.
‘Happy of course,’ he said. ‘He’s shown at this club for so many years in a row now how much of a value he has for the team and club.
‘As like from all our fans and his team-mates we are very happy he extended for two more years and hopefully he can show on Sunday again how important he has been for the whole season.’
When pressed on whether he felt relieved that Salah’s contract saga was finally over, Slot added: ‘I think for the fans it is.
‘I don’t think it is a surprise to you that I knew a bit more how his contract situation went over the course of the season.
‘Maybe for the fans it was a pleasant surprise, but I knew for a little bit longer that it was heading in the right direction.’
He also went onto praise sporting director Richard Hughes for his work in sorting out such an important issue for the club.
‘I think it’s also a big compliment for Richard that he achieved to extend Mo Salah who is such a great player,’ Slot explained.
‘As a free agent, he could probably go to any club in the world that he wants to. But he stayed at our club and that is also a compliment for Richard.’
The futures of Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold are also up in the air, with both stars out of contract at the end of the season.
Mail Sport previously reported that Van Dijk is likely to follow Salah in penning a new two-year deal after dropping a significant hint over his future twice in the last week – though nothing is signed or official yet.
However, Alexander-Arnold is said to be closing in on a move to Real Madrid and Slot refused to be drawn on the futures of either star.
He explained: ‘I think you know the answer, the boring answer as always. We talk about contracts if they are signed so in the situation with Mo we are talking about it.
‘As long as they’re not signed we don’t talk about it. I can tell you that Virgil this season has been incredible for us, even in last few games when there were moments he could do better.
‘If you look at the other 89 minutes he’s such an important player for us, so let’s hope he can do the same as what mo has done. And on Sunday, being our leader again against West Ham.’
Meanwhile, speaking shortly after the contract news was announced an ecstatic Salah revealed the reasoning behind his decision.
‘Of course I’m very excited,’ he told Liverpool’s official website. ‘We have a great team now. Before also we had a great team. But I signed because I think we have a chance to win other trophies and enjoy my football.
‘It’s great, I had my best years here. I played eight years, hopefully it’s going to be 10. I’m enjoying my life here and enjoying my football.
‘My family also feels at home. We enjoy every moment in the city and every moment in the club.
‘It’s a special moment always when we play in Anfield. There is no place like that. The warmth you feel inside, the song before the game.
‘Everything about it, every moment you score a goal and they sing my song is something special.’
He continued: ‘I would like to say to [the fans], I am very, very happy to be here. I signed here because I believe we can win a lot of big trophies together.
‘Keep supporting us and we’ll give it our best, and hopefully in the future we’re going to win more trophies.’
