"It was time for him to go." John Arne Riise didn't dress it up. The former Liverpool left-back spoke plainly about Mohamed Salah's impending departure, and honestly, it's hard to argue with him.
Salah, 33, confirmed on March 24 that he'll leave Anfield at the end of the season — ending an eight-year stint that produced 255 goals and put him third on Liverpool's all-time scoring list. The trophies were real: the Premier League, the Champions League, the lot. But Riise, speaking at the Singapore Cricket Club Soccer 7s, sees a player who hasn't been at that level for a while now.
"He's been unbelievable for the football club for so many years, but I could see it last season as well, that he wasn't up to his top, top level, and especially this season," Riise said.
The contract saga made things worse
That decline has been shadowed by off-pitch noise. In November 2024, Salah told reporters he was "more out than in" — then signed a two-year extension in April 2025 anyway. By December, he was publicly accusing the club of throwing him "under the bus" after being benched for three successive games. Not exactly the form of a player who'd settled back into his best rhythm.
Riise's read on that cycle is sharp: when you sign a big contract under pressure, the expectations reset upward while the performances haven't. Criticism follows. It's a trap Salah walked into with eyes open.
Still, Riise wants Salah sharp before the door closes. Liverpool face an FA Cup quarter-final against Manchester City on April 4, then Paris Saint-Germain across two legs in the Champions League quarters on April 8 and 14. Those aren't games you want a half-fit, distracted version of your top scorer. Anything Liverpool do in the Champions League market — their odds, their route, their credibility — runs through how this squad performs in those three weeks.
Slot deserves more time than he's getting
Riise also pushed back on the noise around manager Arne Slot, whose position has been questioned as Liverpool's title defence has unravelled. Rumours linking Xabi Alonso — Riise's former teammate — as a potential replacement haven't helped the atmosphere.
"He won the league last year and you can't say it's because it was Klopp's team, because he came with his own ideas," Riise said. "I think it's strange to hear that people are calling for his head and booing."
Slot's job looks safe for now according to Riise, who believes the board isn't close to pulling the trigger. Whether that holds if Liverpool exit both cups before May is another question entirely.
