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APR 5, 2026

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‘It’s human to want more’

Salah gets candid on relationships with teammates during nine years at Anfield

DEPARTING legend Mohamed Salah has never shied away from speaking his mind about his team mates throughout the years. Indeed, the Reds icon has openly addressed sharing the pitch with former winger Sadio Mane and new arrival Hugo Ekitike, for vastly contrasting rea sons. Salah stunned the footballing world last month when he revealed he would be departing Liverpool this year after nine years at the club. The Egyptian sits third on the Reds’ all-time top scorers list and was the talis man upon whom much of the club’s recent glory depended. A considerable portion of that success was built upon Salah’s lethal attacking partnership with Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino under Jurgen Klopp. While the Premier League and Champions League-winning trio were enormously effective on the pitch, ques tions frequently arose over the relation ship between Salah and Senegal star Mane. Salah has acknowledged that a “ten sion” existed between the two, with the pair famously clashing during an away LIVERPOOL

Ekitike, 23, appears to have forged a strong understanding with his fellow for wards, netting 17 goals and contributing 6 assists thus far. Salah will depart Anfield this year, despite having penned a new two-year contract at the end of last season. Nevertheless, it remains uncertain where the Premier League icon will ply his trade once he leaves Liverpool behind. Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher believes Salah remains suffi ciently motivated to pursue further Champions League glory before eventu ally succumbing to the allure of Saudi Arabia or North America’s MLS. “I think Mo Salah, the way he’s driven like a Ronaldo, I don’t see the Saudi thing just yet,” Carragher said. “I can see him in Italy with one of the giants. “I just think your career’s over when you go there (Saudi Arabia). I think he’ll still be looking at his Champions League record or how many goals he can get. “I still think he thinks, ‘I’m still one of the best players, and me leaving now is not the end of my top-level career, I’ve still got something to give’.” – Express Newspapers

Earlier this campaign, the 33-year-old also spoke candidly about adapting to life alongside a new attacking unit. Salah acknowledged he was yet to establish an understanding with his new colleagues, having lined up alongside Arne Slot’s new attacking acquisitions Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak. Speaking on the Men In Blazers pod cast, the forward highlighted a particular challenge with Ekitike, and his other new teammates, conceding he would need time to build chemistry with them. “So far, I didn’t figure the connections out yet,” said Salah. “Like with Darwin (Nunez) or Lucho (Luis Diaz) or the guys they used to play in front, or Diogo (Jota). I knew where to start with Diogo or Darwin. I know where to find them. I knew their game very well but with Hugo he’s still new. “Sometimes I need the ball in the field. Sometimes we need (it) in the space. We try to figure that out, through the train ing sessions or like the videos. The man ager shows us. So I will figure it out soon because also it’s going to help my game to grow as well.” While Liverpool have continued to fal ter in the Premier League this season,

fixture at Burnley after Salah failed to pass to Mane. The duo have also come to blows while representing their nations at the Africa Cup of Nations. Speaking to French publication L’Equipe , Salah admitted that he and Mane were not friends. “Yes, there was tension with Sadio,” Salah said, adding: “Mind you, we were professional until the end, I don’t think it affected the team. “It’s human to want more, I under stand that, he’s a competitor. Off the p itch, we weren’t very close, but we always respected each other.” Salah also responded to reports that Mane believed the winger possessed a selfishness when in possession. “I don’t care. People can think what they want, it’s their right,” he said. “But I invite everyone to note that the person who provided Mane with the most assists is me. We can look at the facts, but it’s obviously easier to throw out phrases like that; it makes the head lines, I know how it works. “As long as it remains within the lim its of respect, that’s fine with me. But that doesn’t mean that this opinion is true. At the end of the day, I know what I did, and my conscience is clear.”

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