Salah's contract comments no distraction to team, says Slot

LIVERPOOL : 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 per cent 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