Mohamed Salah is not looking for a transfer away from Anfield, saying his contract requests at Liverpool aren’t “crazy” and Jurgen Klopp has now chimed in.
The 29-year-old is on a blistering run with the Reds in what is clearly the best half-season of his career; Salah has 23 goals and nine assists in 26 matches across all competitions for the Reds. Messi numbers. Lewandowski numbers.
But if he wants Messi money, well...
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Salah has a contract through the 2022-23 season and has been linked with Real Madrid more than a few times in recent seasons, but the Egyptian star insists that remaining at Liverpool is his goal assuming they can meet his demands.
“They know what I want, I’m not asking for crazy stuff,” Salah told GQ. “The thing is when you ask for something and they show you they can give you something,” he says, they should, “because they appreciate what you did for the club. I’ve been here for my fifth year here now. I know the club very well. I love the fans. The fans love me. But with the administration, they have [been] told the situation. It’s in their hands.”
Liverpool relaxed over situation
Jurgen Klopp was asked about Salah’s comments and here is what the Liverpool boss had to say.
“First and foremost, nowadays especially, I think it’s dangerous with these interview things when you didn’t speak to the player himself,” Klopp said. “So, there is nothing what would be unexpected. We know, I know, Mo wants to stay, we want Mo to stay. That’s the point where we are and that these things take time, I cannot change. Sorry. But I think it’s all in a good place. Nothing else to say.
“I’m very positive about it but I don’t think it makes sense that you speak on behalf of the fans because I’m pretty sure the fans are not as nervous as you are. They know the club pretty long and know the people dealing here with the different things pretty long, so I think there are enough reasons for being positive but as long as it is not done we cannot say anything about it. But, good conversations – that’s what I can say.”
Why is this taking such a long time to sort out? Klopp has a few reasons.
“Because things take time. There are so many things what you have to do in these negotiations and there is, by the way, a third party: the agent is there as well. But there’s nothing to worry about, it’s a normal process,” Klopp said. “If you wouldn’t ask, Mo has a contract here this season and the next season and just because we make up stories here, that’s why we always talk about it but there is nothing to say about it. Nobody has to worry, it’s just the situation we are in. Really, all fine. It’s not done, that’s why we didn’t get this news, but we are in talks. He’s a world-class player, an unbelievable player, great boy, did a lot of great stuff for Liverpool and of course we want to keep him. Now let’s see how it will work out. That’s all.”
So how much is Mohamed Salah worth?
According to reports, Mohamed Salah makes around $275,000 a week on his current deal. Marca reports that the 10th-best salary in football is Lewandowski’s $483,000-per-week deal.
This will be an unthinkable thing to read for Liverpool fans, because Salah is currently crafting seasons worthy of soccer lore, but how smart is it for Liverpool to shatter its wage structure for a forward who turns 30 this summer?
That’s not because Salah can’t put up ridiculous numbers for a few more years but the club touts Virgil van Dijk as the best defender on the planet and Alisson Becker the same as goalkeeper. For a club that also wants a marquee center forward and presumably a top central midfielder, that’s going to mean a lot of spending.
Yes, spending comes with success, but Jurgen Klopp has consistently griped about the dollars (or pounds or euros) spent by Man City, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and the like. And by the like, that might be the entire list because Liverpool outspends most clubs on the planet.
So by inking Salah long-term, Liverpool ownership would either be telling the team that those types of wages are possible if you show up and show out at Anfield. Or they’d be essentially declaring that Salah is their guy and anyone who can earn that much elsewhere can, essentially, be bought. Which is fine, we guess.
Maybe that’s all off-base but the question for Liverpool is this: If the choice came down to four more years of Salah over anyone else, would you?