The Shaykh was asked:

There is one who says that era of the Salaf was an era (a phase) that has come and gone.

His answer:

It is ended in relation to him, because he does not love the Salaf and nor does he desire to traverse upon their methodology. As for Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jamaa'ah, then the era of the Salaf [as in what they were upon] will remain until the establishment of the Hour, he (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) said, "There will not cease to be a group from my nation upon the truth. They will not be harmed by those who desert them or oppose them until the command of Allaah, the Blessed and Exalted, arrives."

Refer also the the Shaykh's refutation of Muhammad Sa'eed Ramadan al-Bootee wrote an entire book centred around this claim: Is Salafiyyah Simply a Blessed Historical Time Period or Is It an Actual Jamaa'ah With a Distinct creed and Methodology? - (see here)

Source: Al-Ijaabaat al-Faasilah an Shubuhaat al-Haasilah (p. 39).
Translated by Abu Iyaad.