Mohamed Salah Shocks Fans by Overlooking Jurgen Klopp in Favorite Manager Pick

Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah bypassed his former manager Jürgen Klopp when questioned about his preferred coach throughout his career, choosing instead to heap praise on Luciano Spalletti.

The dynamic between Salah and Klopp during their seven seasons together at Anfield frequently sparked considerable debate, with several on-pitch disagreements suggesting underlying friction between the duo.

Despite any backstage issues, Salah and Klopp formed a formidable partnership at Liverpool. Over 349 matches under the German's guidance, Salah accumulated 211 goals and 94 assists, with only Roberto Firmino (355) recording more appearances under Klopp's tenure. The Egyptian star, though, tops the charts for total playing time with 28,207 minutes.

During a rapid-fire Q&A session with France Football, Salah was prompted to identify his preferred manager from his entire playing career. Following a momentary hesitation, he selected former Roma coach Spalletti.

A recent book about Salah, Simon Hughes's Chasing Salah, explored the 33-year-old's respect for his ex-manager. The publication suggested that Salah would confide in associates that he gained more knowledge from Spalletti during his 62 appearances under the Italian at Roma.

Crucially, though, there appears to be no animosity between Klopp and Salah, with the player addressing their connection in a Sky Sports interview this past January.

"[The relationship with Klopp] is good," he stated. "We message each other occasionally, and in the past three months we've exchanged more texts than we did in the previous seven years, to be honest.

"I'm not stirring up any drama, I'm just speaking positively - we text after every other match or so. He's doing well, his family is doing well, he messaged me about my family and Christmas and such things, so everything's fine."