Arne Slot breaks silence on Mohamed Salah's Liverpool contract bombshell – and reveals how stand-off might be BENEFITING Egyptian star ahead of Real Madrid clash

Mohamed Salah’s contract stand-off is bringing the best out of him and is not a distraction at all, according to Liverpool boss Arne Slot.

The Egyptian forward sent shockwaves through football on Monday when he revealed he was disappointed in the club for not putting a new contract on the table, with the £350,000-a-week star’s current deal set to expire at the end of this season.

Salah said he was ‘more out than in’ about his Anfield future but Slot insisted that the uncertainty is just making his star man better.

‘I don’t think it distracts Mo at all,’ said the Dutch boss ahead of Liverpool’s blockbuster clash with Real Madrid on Wednesday.

‘Maybe it even brings the best out of him if you look at his performances until now.’

Slot straight-batted most other questions about Salah’s contract issues but did joke: ‘If you look at my line-ups, Mo is more in than out.

‘Today he is fully focused on the game (against Real Madrid). I think these kinds of things… the media and all the fans talk about it, which is completely normal – but if you had been at the AXA (training ground) today I don’t think any player talked about it, at least not while I was there.

‘Players always give each other stick so maybe they did this now but players are also focused on the short term and that is Madrid and that is Manchester City (Sunday’s opponents).

‘I don’t think there is any distraction for him, for the players and definitely not for me because I worked yesterday on preparing the team in the best possible way and there was not one time in my mind that I was thinking about sitting here and talking about Mo.

‘I talk to Mo about what I expect from him, like I do with all the other players, and he is in a good place at the moment. I’m not distracted by his comments and I don’t feel his team-mates are. It’s nice we have a story in the media, you guys have some work now as well.’

Meanwhile, Trent Alexander-Arnold is expected to be fit enough to make the bench against the European champions but is unlikely to start. Diogo Jota and Alisson remain out, while Kostas Tsimikas rolled his ankle in training last week and will not be fit.

Slot added that Real Madrid always find a way to win and that, despite being four points behind Barcelona in La Liga, Carlo Ancelotti’s side are a different beast in Europe. ‘They can win by being dominant and outplaying the opponent,’ said the Liverpool boss.

‘But if it is a difficult game they always find a way to win the game or go to the next round. That’s what makes them special. Also of course they have great individual players and great quality. That is the nicest thing about tomorrow, because Liverpool have great players and have done over recent years as well. That’s why we are all looking forward to the game tomorrow.’