Mohamed Salah is a classy person as well as a world-class footballer, as outlined by his response to Liverpool exiting the Champions League earlier this season.
The Reds have secured the 2024/25 Premier League title, but Champions League glory evaded them.
Arne Slot‘s side exited the competition at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain back in March, with the Ligue 1 giants now in the final against Inter Milan.
Salah was heartbroken after the defeat to PSG at Anfield, but speaking to L’Equipe he showed his sporting side, also admitting the game came at a bad time for the Reds.
“It was their day and I shook the hands of the players afterwards,” Salah said.
“‘Congratulations, go win it.’ And that’s it.
“We were very fit all season, and in March alone, we have a slight soft shot. And we’re meeting the best team in Europe at this time.
“They had a rise in power and we reached the same point. Then there was the League Cup game (the final against Newcastle).
“You lose in the Champions League, you approach the League Cup game by saying, ‘bad timing.’”
In hindsight, Liverpool’s loss to PSG came at a time when Slot’s side were toiling, following a relentless spell of fixtures.
They had just come off the back eight fixtures in the month of February, and it was clear that minds and bodies weren’t at their sharpest.
That said, PSG were worthy victors over the two legs, as Salah admits, and they would be deserved Champions League winners this season.
Luis Enrique’s side beat Arsenal in the semi-finals on Wednesday evening, leaving Liverpool’s rivals trophyless for a fifth successive season.
Thankfully for the Reds, they had the Premier League title to fall back on, unlike the Gunners, who are preparing to head to Anfield on Sunday afternoon.
A guard of honour awaits for the champions, which has the potential to go down really well with Mikel Arteta, his players and the travelling supporters!
