The Reds have missed their chance to sell the winger to Saudi Arabia for massive money, making another expensive extension essential
Before Mohamed Salah became the highest-paid player in Liverpool's history in the summer of 2022, then-director of research Ian Graham was tasked with establishing whether the Egyptian was really worthy of a lucrative contract extension.
Salah had already proven himself one of the best signings in Premier League history. After arriving at Anfield in June 2017, the £43 million ($56m) signing from Roma broke one record after another as he helped Jurgen Klopp's Reds win nearly every major honour in the game.
However, Salah was about to turn 30, an age at which many players – and particularly pacey forwards – began to show signs of decline. Consequently, Graham "went into the analysis fully expecting to say, 'Now is the time to sell.' But, to my surprise, it was instead 'Mo is going to keep producing for a couple of years and you can't replace Mo's level of performance.'"
Remarkably, little has changed in the interim. An injury-affected Salah may have suffered a slump towards the tail end of last season, but it's already clear after three rounds of the new Premier League season that, at 32, he remains the best – and most prolific – right-winger in world football.
Why, then, have Liverpool allowed the contract Salah signed in 2022 to enter its final year? And how is it even possible that such a valuable asset could be allowed to leave for nothing at the end of the season?
AFPNot alone
Of course, Salah's situation isn't an anomaly at Anfield. Homegrown hero Trent Alexander-Arnold and captain Virgil van Dijk have less than 10 months on their respective contracts, too. Even more incredibly, there has been no indication that any one of those players is close to signing an extension.
Alexander-Arnold has been politely declining interview requests to avoid discussing the issue with reporters, while Van Dijk has admitted that his contractual situation remains unchanged.
As for Salah, he revealed after scoring in Liverpool's 3-0 win at Manchester United just before the international break that nobody from the club has even spoken to him about a new deal – which is just absolutely staggering.
AdvertisementGettyThe FSG factor
While the current uncertainty over Alexander-Arnold's future makes zero sense and appears to be playing right into the hands of Real Madrid, Liverpool's apparent reluctance to tie down Van Dijk and Salah can be attributed to their advancing years.
Certainly, the club's owners, Fenway Sports Group (FSG), have usually been reluctant to offer new, long-term contracts to players on the wrong side of 30. There have been very notable exceptions to the rules, though.
Indeed, it has been previously claimed that the decision to give Jordan Henderson a new, four-year contract in 2021 – which was backed by then-manager Jurgen Klopp – was contested by Michael Edwards, who promptly stepped down as sporting director.
Getty'Internal disagreements'
"Henderson has given Liverpool sterling service, but the length of that deal was a surprise, contradicting FSG’s policies on players in their 30s," ex-Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher wrote in . "There was an obvious change of tack after Klopp personally intervened following reports that Henderson might leave. 'We will sort it. No doubt about it,' Klopp said.
"Within 24 hours of an agreement, sporting director Michael Edwards was reported as considering his future, and has since left. The timing was probably coincidental, but there were strong suggestions – not contradicted – that there were internal disagreements about the length and value of Henderson’s extension."
It's, thus, entirely plausible that neither Edwards, who was appointed FSG's new CEO of football in March, nor new sporting director Richard Hughes would be in favour of handing either Van Dijk (33) or Salah (32) bumper new deals.
Certainly, those within the club that opposed the Henderson extension were validated in the long run, as it became clear that the midfielder could no longer cut it at the highest level during the 2022-23 campaign. Liverpool were ultimately very fortunate that the Saudi Pro League and Al-Ettifaq came calling for Henderson last summer.
(C)Getty ImagesPiling on the pressure
However, if the major players at Anfield really believe that Salah does not deserve a new contract, they should have tried to sell him during the summer. Another £150m ($196m) offer from the Middle East may have been too much to expect for a player with one year left on his contract, but there's absolutely no doubt that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) would have been willing to pay a sizeable sum for Salah had Liverpool made it clear that they were willing to sell their star forward. Instead, the Reds did nothing and have now lost all control over this situation.
Salah is unquestionably holding all the aces here – and it looks like he knows it too. As Daniel Sturridge recently noted on , Salah looks perfectly at ease with himself right now.
A full summer of rest has obviously played a significant part in his relaxed demeanour, on and off the field, but he must also be buoyed by the fact that he could not be in a better bargaining position in his "last year" at Liverpool.