Salah’s future is a big mystery, between continuing the iconic image of Liverpool or following the call of the Saudi currency.”If we had intended to leave Liverpool this year, we would not have renewed our contract last summer,” Mohamed Salah’s agent Ramy Abbas Issa said earlier this month.
Issa emphasized on the future of the Egyptian player: “Mohamed is still committed to Liverpool.”
That’s the story of 3 weeks ago. At this point, Liverpool fans are really worried about the risk of losing Salah, an indispensable factor in recent seasons.
The Athletic revealed that Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad Club has continuously contacted Salah in recent days to close the transfer deal.
It was Al-Ittihad who took Fabinho from Liverpool not long ago for 40 million pounds. The Saudi Pro League champions are willing to spend a much larger sum on the Anfield team to get Salah’s signature.
During this summer transfer window, Al-Ittihad also had faces from Europe such as Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante and Jota. They want more Salah to protect their No. 1 position in Saudi Arabian football.
Liverpool’s stance is that Salah is not for sale. But the 31-year-old has not made a clear decision as rumors surfaced more and more.
Sources beIN Sports and Arab media reports that Salah seems to have agreed to go to Al-Ittihad.
The Saudi Arabia transfer market is open until September 20. In case Salah agrees to go to Al-Ittihad after September 1 (the transfer closing time in England and Europe), Liverpool will fall into ruin.
Last summer, Salah renewed with Liverpool and became the player with the highest salary in the history of the team located on the Mersey River (350,000 pounds/week; far surpassing Virgil Van Dijk – the second highest earner in the team with 220,000 pounds/week).
Liverpool chose to part ways with Sadio Mane – who failed when he came to Bayern Munich and has now moved to Saudi Arabia (Al-Nassr) – to save money to pay Salah’s salary.
However, after a new contract and increased wages, Salah is not really comfortable at Anfield. He scored 19 goals in the Premier League, the lowest since playing for Liverpool (on par with the 2019-20 season interrupted by Covid-19).
Liverpool’s failure to attend the Champions League this season has a significant impact on Salah. The player who won the African Golden Ball award twice (2017 and 2018) always wants to compete in the most attractive football tournament in Europe, also the best in the world at the club level.
The eight goals in eight games that Salah scored in the Champions League last season speak for themselves. This is a superior rate compared to what he showed in the domestic league.
At Anfield, Salah is the symbol of victory. Mo raised the Champions League and was the leader who helped “The Kop” win the Premier League in 2020, ending 3 decades of not being able to win the English football championship.
Many question whether Salah – fifth on the all-time list for Liverpool (187) – will continue to receive the love from fans at Anfield, or follow the wave towards Saudi Arabia?
Al-Ittihad has a two-year contract on the table with a total salary of 141 million pounds (180 million euros). Source Relevo even reported that this club is ready to make Salah the highest paid Saudi Pro League player, surpassing Ronaldo.
It is no coincidence that Liverpool fans are worried about losing Salah, the author of 1 goal in 2 games this season. In the opening match of the 2023-24 season against Chelsea, he had a bad attitude towards Jurgen Klopp’s decision to substitute.