Mo Salah’s Shocking £480m Offer from Saudi Arabia and Liverpool’s Response
With the Egypt international set to begin the last 18 months of his current contract at Anfield, there has been additional conjecture in recent weeks regarding Mo Salah’s future at Liverpool. The Liverpool leadership quickly rejected Al-Ittihad’s reported proposals and their interest in adding Salah to the expanding list of superstars lured to the Gulf state during the summer transfer window. Al-Ittihad is a Saudi Pro League team.
The Saudi club is reportedly determined to close a deal in the upcoming months, positioning Salah among the highest paid players in the world of football, ranking alongside players with the highest profile in the league such as Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Karim Benzema.
But what is going on, given that the headlines are still dominated by some significant decisions about Salah’s future at Anfield?
A shock £480m offer
Earlier this season, the news that the Saudi summer transfer market would expire seven days after Premier League trading ended caused much anxiety among the Anfield supporters.
As a result, Al-Ittihad was able to exert one more effort to convince Liverpool to let Salah go. It was widely reported that the Pro League team made an offer of £150 million for the attacker during the last week of August.
The Reds administration categorically rejected the offer, which would have established a Premier League record. However, there were additional rumours that the Saudi team would be prepared to give up £200 million to facilitate a transfer out of the Anfield team.
Despite rumours that Salah was going to sign a “mega money contract” for between £400 million and £480 million over three years, Liverpool refuted any suggestions the attacker could be transferred.
The clear plan of Liverpool
Salah has been a fixture in Liverpool’s lineup for some time now, as evidenced by the numerous important people who have stated that the Egyptian will stay with the team.
The Reds star will enter the final year of his current contract at the end of the season, so a crucial decision will wait for player and club. Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano told Kick Salah would not be allowed to leave Anfield during the January transfer window “under any circumstances,” which has strengthened that stance.
‘Crisis’ appears
Although there are rumours that Al-Ittihad is trying to convince Liverpool to sell Salah, the Saudi team has more important priorities at this time given that Nuno Espirito Santo, the former manager of Wolves and Spurs, left the team earlier this month due to a bad start to the season.
Over the weekend, former Argentina international Marcelo Gallardo was announced as his replacement. Gallardo takes over a team that, despite having players like Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, and former Reds midfielder Fabinho in their ranks, is now sitting in fifth position in the Pro League rankings.
Al-Nassr and Al-Ahli, two other PIF-owned teams, are leading the title chase, but Al-Taawoun, a team with little support, is also ahead of Salah’s supporters. On Friday night, Al-Itihad will play again against Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq. Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, two former Reds teammates, will square off in this match.
The verdict of Jurgen Klopp
The man that Jurgen Klopp paid £34 million to bring to Anfield in the summer of 2017 is a player he has always insisted he will keep.
In an unsatisfactory stint with Chelsea earlier in his career, Salah made a fairly low-key beginning to life in England; it’s reasonable to say that few observers could have imagined the effect Salah has made with Liverpool.
With 12 goals in just 17 games this season, the Egypt international is quickly approaching a double century of goals for the team. Salah has the utmost support from his manager, Klopp, who regards the forward as “a world class player.”
The Reds manager said earlier in the season, “He didn’t tell me, but he didn’t have to.” His performances, training, and demeanour all speak for themselves.
This week, we held meetings where the topic of discussion was our future plans rather than our past actions. When Mo was speaking with the players’ (leadership) committee, he would occasionally say something like, “By the way, this is only until next week,” or something like.
“He is fully present, and it’s okay if Dom stated that. Mo doesn’t need to enter my office to inform me that, “By the way, boss… (I’m not going).” To be honest, aside from the questions, I didn’t think about it for a single second.
“Nobody approached me and said something might happen or anything like that,” he went on. Though I’m very certain I would have received a call, I didn’t. Mo appeared to be thinking just about Aston Villa over that brief period of time. Although his numbers are astounding, it is not surprising that he possesses them.
In addition, he had opportunities and was involved in planning, organizing, and other similar tasks. He is without a doubt a top-tier player. And I’m so happy that he’s on my squad.
Agent responds to rumours
Additionally, Salah’s agent, Ramy Abbas Issa, has stated that the star has no intention of leaving Liverpool. On August 7, he posted on Twitter, tying his previous transfer links to a move to Saudi Arabia: We wouldn’t have renewed the deal last summer if we had thought about leaving LFC this year. Mohamed is still fully dedicated to LFC.