Liverpool have no intention of selling Mohamed Salah during the current transfer window, despite increased interest from Saudi Arabia, and are prepared to repel any impending attempt to take the Egyptian away from Anfield.
Al Ittihad of the Saudi Pro League wants Salah and is apparently willing to pay him more than the £177 million (€206 million) that Cristiano Ronaldo got at Al Nassr.
However, the timing of such a deal is incomprehensible for Liverpool, who had received no proposal for their star player as of yesterday afternoon and will not welcome one.
Even if an amazing offer were made, Jurgen Klopp would struggle to replace a player of Salah’s caliber in a matter of days.
As of now, there has been no indication from the player’s camp that he is anything other than dedicated to Anfield, where he is one year into a three-year, £350,000-a-week (€408,000) contract.
Indeed, it wasn’t until August 7th, when it became evident that Saudi clubs coveted Salah, that the player’s representative Ramy Abbas Issa resorted to social media to say it was a no-go in 2023.
“We would not have renewed the contract last summer if we had planned to leave LFC this year,” he added.
“Mohamed remains fully committed to LFC.”
Regardless of Liverpool’s current harsh attitude, the amount of the Saudi offer and how much they are willing to pay the player and his club could have changed since then.
It will be fascinating to see if Abbas is as candid in response to credible rumors that Al Ittihad is planning a move.
If the Saudi Pro League continues to expand, it appears Salah will eventually relocate to the region.
However, he has shown that he still has a lot to give in European football and is regarded as a leader in the Liverpool dressing room as Klopp attempts to rebuild the club.
Salah’s sulky reaction to being subbed against Chelsea on the opening weekend raised some eyebrows, but it’s not the first time he’s done so, and it’s hard to believe that would inspire a change of heart about how long he’ll stay on Merseyside.