Arne Slot sack: The Liverpool non-negotiable that changes everything for Mo Salah

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot must deliver Champions League football this season in order to save his job.

The Reds’ title defence can’t really be described as such. Although they started the season well results-wise, they have not been able to offer league leaders Arsenal much resistance since. Barring a monumental collapse, the Gunners will snatch Liverpool’s crown in May.

To Anfield bosses, the Premier League title race has, in truth, not been particularly important for some time now. Too dramatic has been the team’s decline under Slot this season.

At this stage, Liverpool are at serious risk of missing out on the Champions League. Their shock 2-1 defeat to Wolves last week, as well as Chelsea’s subsequent beatdown of Aston Villa, left the Reds in sixth.

Though only three points separate sixth and third, this is a worrying state of affairs for Liverpool, who have won just four of their 11 Premier League games since the turn of the year. Their last four games of the campaign will all see them face current top-seven sides.

Champions League is non-negotiable for Slot

According to journalist Pete O’Rourke, Champions League qualification is an absolute must for Liverpool, for sporting as well as financial reasons. The Reds, of course, shattered the Premier League transfer record twice last year.

Club bosses do not want to sack Slot, but if he fails to qualify them for Europe’s premier competition, they may have no choice but to pull the trigger. Xabi Alonso, their initial first choice to replace Jurgen Klopp in 2024, is currently available.

“I think the only way Slot will be sacked would be if Liverpool failed to achieve their goal of qualifying for the Champions League, because that would be a huge blow to them financially as well,” O’Rourke explained.

“It would cost the club a lot of money, and obviously, all the players at the top clubs want to play in the Champions League, so it would be a big blow to them as well,” the journalist added, speculating that some big names could demand to leave without UCL qualification.

A lack of Champions League football and the subsequent sacking of Slot could push players like Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister out of the club, but it could also, on the other hand, mean that Mohamed Salah stays.

The two fell out in December and, though Slot managed to smooth things over eventually, the damage was significant, so much so that it is firmly believed that the Egyptian will pursue a move to Saudi Arabia this summer.

However, if Slot were to be sacked, it could change everything for Salah, who would then only have a financial incentive to depart Liverpool for the Middle East. He previously turned down Saudi millions, so why couldn’t he do so again?

The escalating political tension in the region also makes his decision easier. While the expectation currently remains that Salah will depart, the sacking of Slot could yet provide a major twist.

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