09 February 2024 , 07:00
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As Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid continue to dance around each other, Mo Salah is likely to be keeping a watching brief.
The latest on the long-running flirtation between Mbappe and Madrid is that the French forward has laid out three demands that he wants to see met before completing what will be the highest-profile Bosman free transfer since Bosmans began.
Those three things Mbappe wants? A salary of £42.6million a year (gross), a signing bonus of £106m and the retention the vast majority of his image rights, something Real Madrid don't often allow. That's it. Give in to all of that and he's theirs.
The likelihood is that something will give during the negotiations and that Real will eventually get their man, for that is what Mbappe has wanted all along, despite his fondness for Liverpool and the Reds' admirable persistence in keeping in contact with him should the opportunity arise to sign him.
That chance hasn't yet materialised in any real way, but the presence of Salah means that it hasn't had to. But now having entered the final 18 months of his contract, and with Jurgen Klopp rounding his final lap as Liverpool manager, suddenly there are questions circulating around Liverpool's prolific forward.
Klopp's dream Liverpool line up as last-gasp January transfers rejected
Kylian Mbappe has been strongly linked with a move to Real Madrid (AFP via Getty Images)All season the best and perhaps most likely outcome would be that Salah sign a contract extension and stay with the Reds beyond the next campaign, particularly as they are on the up again under Klopp and the Egyptian is playing some of the best football of his career, albeit in a different way.
Now though, with Klopp going and Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold also seeing their deals run down towards expiration in 2025, things are less clear. It would still be a surprise if all three players weren't lining up under Liverpool's new manager next season, but the Salah case is a special one.
Salah will see Klopp depart the club in the summer (Liverpool FC via Getty Images)Will Mo Salah leave Liverpool this summer? Have your say in the comments section
The prospect of a money-spinning switch to Saudi Arabia has of course been on the cards for Salah ever since last summer, but would he really want to go yet? He'll turn 32 in the summer, is in superb shape bar the recent hamstring injury, and is still arguably the best player in the Premier League.
What about a move to another European powerhouse then? Perhaps Paris Saint-Germain in the summer once Mbappe has departed? It would certainly be a better sporting move than Saudi, and if Salah fancies a change of scenery while still operating in Europe then it would make sense.
That is why he is likely to be monitoring the movements around Mbappe pretty closely, both in terms of a new contract he could negotiate with Liverpool and a potential switch to another club if he fancies one.
Right now Liverpool are just focused on getting him back and ready for what could be a golden end of the season, and end to Klopp's tenure. No-one at the club is looking beyond that right now, because frankly no-one knows what that looks like.
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