Soccer Football - Champions League - Liverpool Training - AXA Training Centre, Liverpool, Britain - November 26, 2024 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah during training Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers/File Photo
LIVERPOOL (Reuters) - Liverpool boss Arne Slot kept his cards close to his chest regarding Mohamed Salah's contract negotiations after the striker's recent comments that he is "more out than in," but the manager insisted the issue is not a distraction to the team.
Slot's men put their 100% Champions League record on the line on Wednesday when they host reigning champions Real Madrid, four nights after Salah scored twice in Liverpool's 3-2 win at Southampton and then said he had yet to receive an offer to stay.
"We don't share this. Or at least I don't," Slot said on Tuesday, when asked about the status of Salah's contract, which expires at the end of the season. "The only thing I can say is, if I look at my line-ups, Mo is more in than out."
Liverpool are the only team with a perfect record in the first four Champions League games, with a two-point lead atop the table.
Slot said Salah's negotiations have not spilled onto the pitch.
"I don't think he's distracted at all. I haven't seen anything today, he is just fully focused on the game tomorrow," Slot told reporters.
"If you would have been at the Axa (Training Centre) today, I don't think any player spoke about it, at least not when I was there. Players are focused on the short-term and that is Madrid and that is (Manchester) City. There is no distraction for him, the players and definitely not for me."
Liverpool host struggling Manchester City, who trail them by eight points in second place in the Premier League table, on Sunday.
Slot said defender Trent Alexander-Arnold will be in Wednesday's squad but is not fit to start, while Alisson, Diogo Jota and Federico Chiesa remain sidelined with injuries.
Real Madrid are 18th in the Champions League's new 36-team format, where the top eight teams qualify automatically for the last 16 and the next 16 enter a two-legged playoff to join them.
Slot deflected praise about the sizzling start to his debut season at Anfield, which includes 10 wins in his first 12 league games.
"Results have been really good and results are always done by the players. If they have really good results then that is good for the manager, the press officer and everyone that works at the club," the Dutchman said.
"We also know how much effort we have to put in to win these games and that's why we always have to give credit to the players. As a result of that, players are popular - Mo is quite popular over here and maybe the manager who is part of those results as well."
(Reporting by Lori Ewing in Manchester, England; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
