LIVERPOOL
Mohamed Salah transfer update: Al-Ittihad prepare $162 million bid for Liverpool star
Liverpool maintain that Salah is not for sale, but the Saudi Pro League side are reportedly close to submitting a huge offer.
Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad are preparing a massive transfer offer to prise Mohamed Salah away from Anfield.
The Egyptian forward has another two years remaining on his current deal with Liverpool but could become one of the highest-paid players in world football if he moves to Saudi Arabia.
CBS Sports report that Al-Ittihad are willing to offer $162 million (€150m) for the 31-year-old, alongside an enormous salary package.
Salah could sign on a deal comparable to those signed by Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar, who each earn in excess of $200 million a year once all bonuses and endorsements are considered.
The Saudi transfer window closes on 20 September, more than two weeks later than most European clubs are able to sign players. This opens the possibility that European teams could receive huge bids for players, but be unable to sign a replacement until January.
Will Salah leave Liverpool?
At this late stage, three games into the Premier League season, Liverpool will be desperate to avoid losing such a key player.
“Mo Salah is a Liverpool player and essential for everything we do,” said manager Jurgen Klopp last Friday, when asked about rumours of a bid for Salah.
“If there would be something, the answer would be no. My life philosophy is I think about a problem when I have it, and there is absolutely nothing at the moment.”
Likewise, Salah’s agent insisted that there was no truth in stories about Salah wanting to move to Saudi Arabia.
“If we considered leaving LFC this year, we wouldn’t have renewed the contract last summer,” said Salah’s agent, Ramy Abbas.
However if Al-Ittihad were to table an offer of the magnitude that has been reported it would undoubtedly leave Liverpool with a tough decision to make. Earlier this summer the club lost Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, two senior players that they had planned to keep, after receiving big offers from the Saudi Pro League.
Salah is far more important to Liverpool than anyone else they’ve lost this summer, but Al-Ittihad could really test Liverpool’s resolve with a huge offer in the coming days.