Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah believes there can be no excuse for missing the Champions League.
The 30-year-old admits the team failed and let the fans down this season with a fifth-place finish.
Manchester United’s 4-1 victory over Chelsea means fourth place is now out of reach for last season’s losing finalists.
I am completely devastated. There is absolutely no excuse for this. We had everything we needed to qualify for the Champions League next year, but we failed. We are Liverpool and qualifying for the competition is the bare minimum. Sorry, but it’s too early to be enthusiastic or optimistic… pic.twitter.com/qZmA9WsueM
— Mohamed Salah (@MoSalah) May 25, 2023
Jurgen Klopp’s side have performed poorly all season and only their current 10-match unbeaten streak, including a seven-win streak, has given them a distant chance of reaching Europe’s elite club competition.
But their involvement in the Europa League, when Klopp missed the top four in a full season at the club for the first time, upset Salah.
“I am completely devastated. There is absolutely no excuse for this,” wrote the Egypt international, who rarely makes public statements, in a scathing Twitter post.
“We had everything we needed to qualify for the Champions League next year and we failed.
“We are Liverpool and qualifying for the competition is the bare minimum.
“Sorry, but it’s still too early for an uplifting or optimistic post.
“We have failed you and ourselves.”
In a disappointing season, Salah still scored 30 goals and is just one step away from becoming the first player in Premier League history to score 20 goals and 10 assists in three seasons, surpassing the record he shares with Thierry Henry.
He is 20 goals short of the season for the fifth time in six years at Liverpool (the other time he scored 19) and if he manages to score at Southampton on Sunday he will be the first Liverpool player since Roger Hunt in 1965-66, scoring 20 league goals for the third consecutive season.