Arne Slot has brushed off renewed concerns about Mohamed Salah's Liverpool future, backing the Egyptian to emulate Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo by performing well into the twilight of his career.
Salah, who is approaching the final six months of his contract, offered a cryptic update on his future with the club after scoring in the 2-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion, insisting he will remember the feeling of scoring at Anfield "no matter what happens".
"I haven't spoken to him about that," Slot said in response to Salah's message in his press conference ahead of Tuesday's clash with Bayer Leverkusen. "We have spoken about Leverkusen because that team deserves all of our attention for the quality they have.
"He is out of contract at the end of the season and now he has a post which you interpreted in a certain way. Virgil [van Dijk] said something in the press [about his situation]. This will probably continue for as long as their futures are not clear."
Regardless of the uncertainty surrounding his Liverpool future, Slot insisted he remains delighted with Salah's output as he backed the 32-year-old to remain a superstar for the foreseeable future like Ronaldo, 39, and Messi, 37,
"There is no reason at the moment to think that he is dropping in terms of level," Slot explained. "That's not what you see when you look at his numbers or what you see when he plays. I cannot tell you what the future will look like. Cristiano Ronaldo, what age is he at the moment? Messi is still incredible. Incredible.
"But there are also players like me who weren't as good any more at 33 - not that I was so good at 26! I regressed worse than Ronaldo and Messi.
"I do know Mo is in a very good place at the moment. As long as he has been at Liverpool, he has been in a very good place, but this season again as well."
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