30 September 2023 , 15:06
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Just 12 months after putting an end to speculation over his future, Mohamed Salah found himself embroiled in another transfer saga this summer.
The 31-year-old put pen-to-paper on a lucrative three-year deal with Liverpool back in July 2022, but that wasn't enough to deter interest from the Saudi Pro League this summer. Al-Ittihad saw a mammoth £150million bid for Salah turned down by the Reds on transfer deadline day, although they are expected to rekindle their interest in the coming months.
Intriguingly, fresh details of the protracted contract negotiations between Liverpool and Salah's camp have come to light in recent days courtesy of a Harvard Business School study. Both Salah and his agent have spoken out on the saga, shedding light on how close he came to leaving, an outline on his demands and how a resolution was found...
Salah's '£1m per week' agreement
Salah's agent and advisor, Rammy Abbas, has appeared to claim that his star client is earning in excess of £1million-a-week after becoming Liverpool's highest paid player.
Speaking in the study, which has been seen by The Guardian, Abbas outlined that there was a significant difference between the two parties in negotiations before sketching out how much Salah could earn if Liverpool were to cede ground in taks.
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Abbas said: “If we find a way to get Liverpool to agree to the salary we have in mind and if Mohamed performs at a level he has achieved in the past seasons, we conservatively expect the total amount received by Mohamed and the image rights companies over the next few years from both his playing contract and his image rights contracts to be somewhere between €54m [£46.8m] and €62m [£53.7m] per year.”
Liverpool's transfer stance
Join the debate! Do you think Salah will still be at Liverpool beyond this season? Let us know here.
Mohamed Salah was the subject of a mega-money bid from Al-Ittihad in the summer transfer window (Getty Images)Liverpool may have rejected the £150m bid that was tabled by Al-Ittihad on deadline day, but the Reds were left 'torn' at the prospect of a world-record proposal being tabled by the Saudi Pro League outfit.
There was plenty of speculation that Al-Ittihad would return with an improved bid before the Saudi transfer deadline. The fresh bid was touted to be worth a sum in excess of the current, set by Neymar and PSG back in 2017.
According to a previous report from The Sun, some members of the Liverpool hierarchy were divided over whether or not to accept such a bid. Ultimately, the offer failed to materialise, meaning there was no decision to make in the end. However, it definitely doesn't feel like this particular transfer saga is fully over...
Inevitable exit warning
Jamie Carragher believes Salah will leave Liverpool next summer (David Loveday/TGS Photo/REX/Shutterstock)While Salah ended up staying at Anfield this time around, Jamie Carragher believes a deal that would take him to Saudi Arabia next summer is inevitable - if Al-Ittihad are willing to cough up a nine-figure sum for his services.
Speaking to talkSPORT prior to the Saudi transfer deadline earlier this month, Carragher said: "His contract will be up before you know it. I think the feeling among most Liverpool supporters is that we have got him for one more season, rather than him going now, with no chance of bringing anyone in.
"For all parties, it almost feels like next summer. Liverpool would still get a substantial transfer fee, they would have Salah for this season and it would give him the chance of more success.
"Liverpool would have 12 months to think of someone, if there is anyone out there, to replace him. It is difficult to replace players of that quality, you have to try and use the funds to improve several positions. Great players come and go and sometimes you have to move on."