Mohamed Salah has once again hinted that his future at Liverpool is very much up in the air, with the Egyptian superstar proclaiming, “I want to stay here as long as I can,” before indicating that the final decision is, regrettably, not one for him to make.
[ MORE: Transfer news: Sanson to Arsenal, Traore to Liverpool ]
The discontent between Salah and Liverpool can be traced back to an interview he gave just before Christmas, in which he referenced the “great” clubs of Real Madrid. Manager Jurgen Klopp looked to downplay the transfer news surrounding the Premier League’s current Golden Boot leader (13 goals), but stated quite plainly that he could not force any one to stay.
This week, in another television interview, Salah was again asked about his future and appeared to pass the buck back to Liverpool, where he has a contract through the summer of 2023 — quotes from the Guardian:
According to previous reports, Liverpool have previously discussed whether or not Mohamed Salah should be sold sooner rather than later, given he will turn 29 this summer and is only likely to regress over the final two and a half seasons of his contract. Salah will be 31 when his contract expires, which makes for a hugely difficult decision to either re-sign or let him walk away for free.
[ MORE: Klopp focused on top-four, not the title race ]
The latter is, quite clearly, a worst-case scenario for Liverpool, considering Salah’s status as a global superstar, which means the ideal time to move him on and recoup some — or all — of the $50 million they paid for him in the summer of 2017, could come as soon as this summer.