Clarence Seedorf challenged Arne Slot about the Mohamed Salah saga following Liverpool's win over Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League.
On Tuesday night, Liverpool arrived at the San Siro in turmoil, following two disappointing results in the Premier League and Salah's recent explosive interview.
Following Liverpool's 3-3 draw with Leeds United, Salah unleashed in the mixed zone, accusing the club of 'throwing him under the bus'.
As a result, Salah was left out of Liverpool's squad to play against the Serie A giants.
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Against Inter, Liverpool produced a spirited display to earn a 1-0 victory, thanks to Dominik Szoboszlai's late penalty.
After the match, perhaps as expected, the attention returned to the Salah saga as Dutch legend Seedorf questioned Slot.
When first questioned about the saga, Slot said: "I think tonight it should be all about what we’ve done here, in a stadium like this, against Inter, winning, all the focus should be on that tonight.
"I can fully understand if I go into the press conference again on Friday and all the questions will be about Mo, but I think these players deserve now that we speak about them."
Seedorf then began: "I don’t exactly agree on that.
"We obviously have great respect for you and Mo Salah, we don’t want to be polemic, but it’s also a need to understand because there’s a lot of assumptions made by us as well.
"Do you have the intention to bring him back? It is our view, I would love to see that happen, because everybody makes mistakes in life. Things happen and you always have the spirit."
In response, the Liverpool boss said: "OK, you say everyone makes mistakes in life, so the first thing should be: does the player think he’s made a mistake as well?"
Seedorf then continued to challenge Slot as he asked: "How are you going to know if you don’t talk with him?"
Slot replied: "I haven’t said that I’m not going to talk to him, I just said the focus should be on the players. The next question is: should the initiative come from me or from him? That’s another question to answer.
"But as I said, the focus for tonight should be [on these players]."
Seedorf added: "I believe that the team, the club and the coach, when a player is hurt for whatever reason – right, wrong or whatever – should make the first step and open the door for him to then see what is happening. This was my comment.”
Ending the exchange, Slot said: "OK, that’s your opinion!"
The pair then shared a laugh before ex-Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge had his say about the matter.
Liverpool will be back in Premier League action this weekend when they take on Brighton and Hove Albion at Anfield on Saturday afternoon.
It remains to be seen whether Salah will be included in the matchday squad.
Topics: Liverpool, Mohamed Salah, Arne Slot, Clarence Seedorf, Inter Milan, Champions League, Football
Marcus Chan