Virgil van Dijk and Arne Slot were asked bruising questions by Clarence Seedorf about their roles in resolving the Mo Salah saga.
Salah was left at home by Liverpool for their Champions League win at Inter Milan on Tuesday night, after an interview where he accused his club of scapegoating him over their poor form, and claimed to have no relationship anymore with Slot.
Salah had previously been benched for three consecutive Premier League games. He will head to the Africa Cup of Nations on Dec. 15 to represent Egypt, further complicating his status with Liverpool.
Pitch-side at San Siro for Amazon Prime Sport, tough questions were asked by Netherlands legend Seedorf to his countrymen.
Seedorf said to Van Dijk: “You cannot say it, but I can say: I think he should apologise. Not for what he said, but for the decision to go out. “It creates a difficult environment inside, and all the extras that you don’t need in this moment. I am saying this as a fan of Mo Salah, he’s a great professional and a great player.
“But, as a captain, are you going to play a role in trying to bring peace again? Because this is such a delicate part of the season.” Van Dijk replied: “It is. You know the reality, also, is that Mo is going to Africa at the weekend.
“I have known Mo for such a long time, we are good friends. We have been through highs and lows. He has been a big part of the success that I’ve had at the football club, I’ve been a big part of his success. We are all part of Liverpool Football Club.
“We speak. Those types of things will stay indoors, as they should do.
“We, as players, have to brace ourselves and be against the outside noise. I encourage the players to do so.”
Seedorf tells Slot: ‘I don’t exactly agree’
Seedorf then turned his attention to Slot, who led Liverpool to an important victory in Italy despite Salah’s absence.
Slot first said: “It should be all about what we’ve done in a stadium like this against Inter.
“I understand that all questions will be about Mo but these players deserve now that we speak about them.”
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But Seedorf chimed in: “Well, I don’t exactly agree about that.
“We have great respect for you Mo Salah, and we don’t want to be polemic. It’s also to understand, because there are a lot of assumptions made by us. Do you have the intention to bring him back?
“I would love to see that happen because everybody makes mistakes in life. Things happen, and you always have spirit. What is your spirit?”
Slot replied: “Yeah, but, you say everyone makes mistakes in life? Does the player think he’s made a mistake?”
Seedorf said: “But how will you know that if you don’t talk with him? Are you going to talk with him?”
Slot responded to Seedorf: “I haven’t said that I’m not going to talk with him. The next question is: should the initiative come from me or from him?”
