Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia has been aggressive in their pursuit of Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah
Mohamed Salah has apparently given ‘no hint’ that he wants to leave Liverpool for the riches of the Saudi Pro League after the Reds rejected a £150 million bid. This summer, Saudi Arabian clubs shook up the transfer market by giving big salaries to some of Europe’s greatest players.
Neymar, Karim Benzema, and N’Golo Kante have joined Cristiano Ronaldo in moving to the Gulf state. Kylian Mbappe turned off the opportunity to join the elite club earlier this summer in moving to Saudi Arabia.
But the Saudis aren’t satisfied, as they’ve recently shifted their attention to Liverpool sensation Mohamed Salah. Despite Jurgen Klopp’s assertion that Salah was not for sale, Al Ittihad had been making a strong case to sign him.
On Friday, just hours before the Premier League deadline, the Saudi Pro League club submitted an official proposal worth up to £150 million. Liverpool promptly rejected the offer and showed no sign of accepting a higher price.
Salah is also said to be unwilling to leave Anfield despite being offered a lucrative contract. The Egyptian international is Liverpool’s highest-paid player, earning roughly £350,000 per week.
However, based on Salah’s actions behind the scenes, Liverpool may be able to relax in the coming days. His current stance of not pushing for a departure suggests that Al Ittihad will have to wait until at least next year to attempt again.
Salah’s contract expires in two years, and Liverpool may be more willing to listen to bids next summer, when the Egyptian star would be 32 years old.
Klopp also looks unconcerned about Salah’s immediate future at Anfield, despite the fact that Saudi Pro League clubs can conduct business until September 20.
“From my point of view, I see absolutely nothing to worry about. Mo is super committed,” Klopp said. “He’s really in training fully there, in the leadership meetings this week, he is fully in. All good, we are here and everything is fine.”
Salah was’very disappointed’ three years ago when he was passed over for the captain’s armband in a Champions League encounter against Midtjylland in favor of Trent Alexander-Arnold.
He is now a member of Liverpool’s ‘leadership group,’ but he is still behind Virgil van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold in the pecking order.
Salah, on the other hand, looks to be pleased with his current position at Liverpool, based on his demeanor behind the scenes. Liverpool will be hoping that this trend continues for at least another few weeks while the Saudi transfer window is still open.
