Dejan Lovren Defends Mohamed Salah Against Critics

Dejan Lovren has launched a fierce defence of Mohamed Salah, accusing pundits, club leadership and former manager Arne Slot of creating an environment that drove the Liverpool icon out of Anfield.

The Croatian, one of Salah’s closest friends in the game, painted a picture of a club and a media landscape that turned on its greatest modern goalscorer after a single difficult season.

“It’s disgusting”

Speaking to WinWin, Lovren said he was stunned by the tone of the criticism that followed Salah’s dip in numbers after a blistering 2024-25 campaign.

"The way they treated him this season is not harsh," he said. "It's disgusting. Why didn't they talk about him like this for the past eight or nine years? Tell me... OK, one season, and then he's the target again. There are so many other issues."

For nearly a decade, Salah carried Liverpool’s attack, broke records and dragged the team through tight games. One season short of his usual standards, and, in Lovren’s eyes, the knives came out.

The defender’s anger was not reserved for anonymous voices on social media. He went straight for one of the club’s most prominent former players.

Lovren vs Carragher

Jamie Carragher had previously questioned Salah’s attitude and labelled him selfish. Lovren did not bother to soften his response.

He suggested the former centre-back’s words owed more to television drama than serious tactical insight, and challenged him to deliver such verdicts face to face.

"He's being really heavily criticised," Lovren said. "Some pundits do it just to attract attention, maybe because they haven't succeeded in other areas of their lives, so now they need to perform well... especially Carragher, he says whatever he wants.

"I always said he should tell him this to his face, say all these things to Mo to his face. He'll never say that. Because I know he never will, because he never said it to me. He's talked badly about me too, but he never said that to me anyway. You know, he's just performing on TV and he gets paid for it, so he needs to perform this way."

In Lovren’s telling, the studio became a stage, and Salah the easy storyline.

Slot in the firing line

Lovren did not stop at the pundits. He went straight to the dugout and pointed the finger at Arne Slot, making it clear he believes the Dutchman’s relationship with Salah lay at the heart of the Egyptian’s decision to walk away from Merseyside.

"I don't think it's the management (that pushed Salah to leave)," the PAOK defender said. "I think it's just one person, and I think it's just the manager. They didn't have a good relationship. Let's put it simply."

Lovren drew a sharp contrast with Jurgen Klopp, under whom Salah produced the best football of his career and helped deliver the Champions League and Premier League titles.

"With Klopp, he had a really good relationship. It wasn't always perfect, but they knew each other very well, let's say that too, and they trusted each other, they liked each other, and Mo gave everything on the pitch for Klopp, and Klopp gave him that trust.

"But (with Slot) it was the opposite. It's that simple, and everyone knows it because when you look at the previous eight or nine seasons, he did really well."

In Lovren’s view, the bond that once defined Liverpool’s rise – a manager backing his star forward and a forward emptying the tank for his manager – evaporated, and nothing came in to replace it.

“He never felt that support”

For Lovren, though, this was not just about one manager and one player. He widened the lens to take in the club’s leadership and the dressing room itself, accusing both of failing to protect Salah as the criticism intensified.

"There are other players who should also take responsibility and say, 'yes, this is my fault', but you know, some players never came forward," he said.

"There was mismanagement; internally, they didn't handle it well. They didn't handle it well. Even if you have some problems, you have to talk about it in the dressing room, and like I said, Mo never felt that support."

While others stayed in the background, Salah, he argued, became the default scapegoat.

"He was always the front-page headline, 'Ah, it's Mohamed Salah, don't be surprised.' I mean... it's a deep-seated issue."

Lovren’s words cut through the usual end-of-era politeness. No nostalgia, no soft-focus tributes. Just a blunt accusation: that Liverpool allowed their greatest Premier League goalscorer to stand alone while the storm raged, and then watched him walk away.