Dejan Lovren Defends Mohamed Salah Against Criticism

Dejan Lovren has launched a fierce defence of Mohamed Salah, accusing pundits, Liverpool’s hierarchy and former head coach Arne Slot of helping drive the club’s record Premier League scorer out of Anfield.

The Croatian, a close friend and former team‑mate of Salah, said the treatment of the Egyptian across a difficult season went far beyond normal criticism.

“It’s disgusting”

Speaking to WinWin, Lovren did not bother with diplomacy.

"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."

Salah, who had followed a stellar 2024-25 campaign with a noticeable dip, found his form and his future dissected on a weekly basis. For Lovren, the tone of that debate crossed a line from analysis into character assassination of a player who has carried Liverpool’s attack for nearly a decade.

The defender’s frustration lies in the contrast. Years of elite output, Ballon d’Or conversations, Champions League nights, title runs – and then, one off-season, the knives are out.

Carragher in the crosshairs

Lovren reserved some of his strongest words for Jamie Carragher. The former Liverpool centre-back had publicly questioned Salah’s attitude and labelled him selfish. Lovren saw something else: performance for the cameras.

He suggested Carragher’s words were less about tactical insight and more about driving television numbers, and he challenged the pundit to front up to the players he criticises.

"He's being really heavily criticised," Lovren said of Salah. "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."

The accusation is blunt: on-air theatre at the expense of a player already under siege.

From Klopp’s trust to Slot’s rupture

Lovren did not stop at the media. He went straight for the dugout.

While insisting it was not a club-wide conspiracy, he made it clear he believes one man in particular pushed Salah towards the exit: former head coach Arne Slot.

"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 painted a stark contrast with the years under Jurgen Klopp. With Klopp, he said, there was a bond built on mutual trust and shared battles, even when they clashed.

"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 eyes, the breakdown between Salah and Slot – marked by a public spat and a collapse in communication – created an atmosphere no elite forward would tolerate for long.

“He never felt that support”

For all the tactical debate and dressing-room politics, Lovren kept circling back to one theme: protection, or the lack of it.

He argued that Liverpool’s leadership failed to shield Salah from the storm, leaving him to absorb the blame for a faltering season while others escaped scrutiny.

"There are other players who should also take responsibility and say, 'yes, this is my fault', but you know, some players never came forward," Lovren said. "There was mismanagement; internally, they didn't handle it well. They didn't handle it well."

He echoed Salah’s own hints that he felt isolated as the criticism intensified.

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

For Lovren, that is the real indictment. Not just that a modern Liverpool great is leaving, but that when the pressure rose and the goals slowed, the club’s most reliable star was left to stand alone.