Steven Gerrard has opened up on an “emotional” exchange with Liverpool hero Mohamed Salah following the forward’s public spat with Arne Slot in December.

Salahhad been left out of the Liverpool lineup for consecutive games before claiming he had been “thrown under the bus” by the club and had “no relationship” with manager Slot.

The Egyptian was then left out of Liverpool’s Champions League squad for their victory over Inter Milan before being welcomed back into the fold following his return from the Africa Cup of Nations.

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Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, Gerrard revealed he sent a message to Salah in the immediate aftermath of his comments and urged him not to leave the club “under a cloud”.

Speaking on the Overlap, Gerrard explained: “I spoke to him around that interview at the time. I said, ‘Don’t do what you’ve done and go under a cloud’ — yeah, I spoke to him direct.

“He texts me every now and again or I text him now and again, more if I am going somewhere with Leo (Gerrard’s son) just so Leo can see him.

“But it gave me the opportunity to say to him, ‘You’ve been here for eight or nine years. You’ve been a king here; you’ve got this legacy. Go on your terms, the right way.'”

When asked how Salah responded, Gerrard revealed: “He was still a little emotional at the time from the incidents.

“He was a sub. He was in and out of the team at the time. He was upset. I thought it would have been a shame if he left in January, and he just left.”

Gerrard also reflected on his own rift with former Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers during his time at the club.

He continued: “I understand both sides of it now, I have been a manager myself, I understand both sides. I had a similar thing with Brendan (Rodgers).

“But when I look back at it now, and I am out of the game and on the other side of it and less emotional, you understand it from where Brendan is. I maybe wasn’t the same player at 34.

“There’s no rule where you have to play every minute because you’re the captain, but at the time, it’s not easy.

“When you’re in the squad, and you’re about to play (Manchester) United, and you look at the squad, and you think, ‘I am as good if not better than those players.’ It’s difficult in the player’s situation.”

Salah looks set to leave in the right way at the end of this season after he and the club agreed to part ways with a year left to run on his contract.

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