‘I love you’ Mohamed Salah pays tribute to departing star

Liverpool star Mohamed Salah paid tribute to Dejan Lovren.

Zenit St. Petersberg’s official website stated that the Croatian international joined them on a three-year deal as the 31-year-old central defender ended his six-year spell at Liverpool this weekend.

Lovren arrived at Liverpool from Southampton in the summer of 2014, shortly after competing in the World Cup in Brazil.

The centre-back eventually went on to make 185 appearances for the Reds, amassing eight goals and five assists.

Following the arrival of Virgil van Dijk and the emergence of Joe Gomez, Lovren became more of a fringe player for Liverpool, making only 15 appearances across all competition this season, netting a goal against Napoli in the Champions League.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp paid tribute to the Croatian international, calling him a club legend.

"Speaking to club’s official website, the 53-year-old said: “Another Liverpool legend who leaves the club, because he was absolutely a very, very important part of this team from the first day since I was in.More from Rush The KopSet to return, Virgil Van Dijk facing heavy criticism back homeLiverpool making late comebacks all the rage once againWolves tilt gives Klopp opportunity to tinker with lineup following international dutyPlayers to watch in the matchup with WolvesPredicting Liverpool’s Next Five Premier League Fixtures“I remember when we played with Dortmund against Liverpool in the pre-season friendly and Dejan scored with a header with incredible power. That was the image I had in my mind when I came here and I thought about the defenders we had at the time.“Yes, I think he will not like the Tottenham game when I took him off in the first half, but it is part of football and part of development – and he always came back.”"

Mohamed Salah who is known to be a very close friend of Dejan Lovren and also paid tribute to his now-former teammate. The Egyptian international said the defender would be missed around Melwood and praised his ability as a player.

"“You’ve been an unbelievable player and a great friend for me. We’re going to miss you a lot. I miss you a lot, I love you so much.”"

Lovren was linked to an exit from Liverpool for a while and now he’s has left for Zenit, becoming only the second Croatian player to join the club, the other being Ivica Krizanac.

Sergei Semak’s side has a number of experienced defenders including Branislav Ivanovic and the 31-year-old will surely be a suitable addition to the club and we could see him becoming a regular there.

Lovren’s final few games for Liverpool weren’t particularly good but he had a number of memorable moments during his stay, the most notable of them obviously being the header against Dortmund in the Europa League in 2016 which completed a miraculous comeback.

He was also key in Liverpool’s run to the Champions League final in 2018 and was adjudged the 5th best defender of the competition by UEFA. That year, the Croat was also shortlisted for FIFPro’s World XI.

Lovren ends his Liverpool career having won the Premier League, the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.

Thank you for your service to the club Dejan and hope you have a fine spell in Russia.