The situation with Mohamed Salah and his stand-off with Liverpool over a new contract is a complex one. His current deal expires at the end of next season, and there has been plenty of speculation about what would happen this summer if no breakthrough is reached.
Having joined the club in the summer of 2017 from AS Roma, Salah has so far had 210 goal involvements (153 goals, 57 assists) in all competitions for the club. He broke numerous records on the way, starting with the one for most Premier League goals in a 38-game season in 2017/18.
Apparently, Salah is holding out for a salary which would reflect his well-earned status as one of the best, if not the best, player on the planet right now. On the other hand, Liverpool are mindful of the importance of their well-constructed wage structure as well as the fact that the winger will be turning 30 this summer. No reliable journalist or outlet has revealed either the player’s demands or the club’s offer, but there is supposed to be a big gap between them.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is frequently asked about the situation, but apart an obvious calmness emanating from the charismatic German, he hasn’t been willing (or perhaps able) to shed any real light on the matter. At one point, he expressed an opinion that the club had done all they could, apparently prompting Salah’s agent Ramy Abbas Isa to post several ‘rolling with laughter’ emojis on Twitter within minutes. The tweet appears to have been deleted since.
This latest report, coming from the Mirror, claims that Salah is now willing to reconsider his stance in the talks, following the disappointments he suffered with Egypt in the African Cup of Nations final and the World Cup qualifications play-offs. On both occasions, Egypt were beaten by Sadio Mane’s Senegal.
Liverpool have a tradition of organizing a party to celebrate together whenever one of their players achieves important success at international level, but this time, Klopp has confirmed that Mane insisted that the party should not be held, feeling it would’ve been disrespectful to Salah to have had it.
How much truth there is in this story about Salah’s apparent change of mind regarding new contract demands, remains to be seen.
