31-year-old Mo Salah has cemented himself as a Liverpool icon in the last six years. With almost a century-and-a-half of competitive goals to his name, the Egyptian international has been a focal point of the Reds’ attack under the managership of Jurgen Klopp.
All good things must come to an end though. In recent transfer windows, there’s been growing speculation that Salah may be considering a move away from Anfield. With talkSPORT BET’s current transfer odds pegging him at odds of 2/1* to move to any Saudi League.
However, last summer, Salah signed a new contract extension, tying him to the club until the summer of 2025 at the earliest.
The new contract pays Salah circa £350,000 a week. Although this sounds like an extortionate sum already, money talks and there’s the potential for even bigger salaries to be found many miles from Merseyside. Below, we assess the future of Mo Salah and his possible destinations should a transfer away materialise.
Stay at Liverpool?
The opening of the 2024 January transfer window will once again intensify speculation surrounding Salah’s future. Nevertheless, the reality is that Salah is contracted to Liverpool for the rest of the 2023/24 season, as well as the 2024/25 campaign. It’s true that the Reds’ hierarchy may look to move the Egyptian on next summer if they want to maximise Salah’s market value.
If they keep Salah for the 2024/25 season, the Reds would risk losing him on a free transfer in July 2025. Nevertheless, this may be something that Salah would prefer. He would move to a new club with a sizeable signing-on fee, no doubt.
Staying put with Liverpool is an option for Salah to consider. The Reds are firmly in the picture for the 2023/24 Premier League title, sitting just two points behind Arsenal in second place after 14 games. Winning a second Premier League winners’ medal would be a great thing to have on the CV.
Liverpool may even decide it makes more sense from a football perspective to keep Salah until the summer of 2025 and allow him to leave then. Liverpool would still have benefitted from Salah’s prime years and the club would have 18 months to scout and recruit his long-term replacement.
There’s also the prospect of Jurgen Klopp calling time on his managerial reign at Anfield (as seen in our manager betting odds). The German is contracted until the end of the 2025/26 campaign. Reports suggest Klopp is unlikely to extend his stay on Merseyside beyond 2026, so Salah may feel summer 2025 is the right time to leave with the end of an era months away.
Move to Saudi?
The Saudi Pro League has experienced intense investment from the nation’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) in the last 12 months, attracting some of the biggest players and managers to Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Pro League is increasingly viewed in the same way as the Chinese Super League was when it began to entice top European talent to play in Asia.
Former Liverpool stars, Jordan Henderson, Sadio Mane, Fabinho and Roberto Firmino have all put pen to paper on transfers to the Middle East in the last 12 months. Speculation was rife in the football odds markets that Salah would be the next Reds star agreeing to a one-way ticket to Saudi Arabia. Al Ittihad reportedly had a £150m offer rejected for Salah’s services just hours from the closure of the summer transfer window.
In total, clubs within the Saudi Pro League forked out an eye-watering £1 billion to recruit players for the 2023/24 season. This included big-name stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo. There’s no doubt Salah’s arrival in Saudi would have a similar impact to Ronaldo. Salah is already a huge name in Middle Eastern football, due to his exploit for both club and country. It’s possible increasing his profile could tip the balance in favour of a January exit but, with the Reds hotly tipped in the Premier League betting markets to win a second title in five seasons, it’s hard to see him being lured away in the coming weeks.
Other Possible Suitors for Mo Salah
Other teams listed within the Mo Salah Next Club Odds market include Real Madrid and Barcelona. The Spanish La Liga is one top-flight European league that Salah is yet to experience. Real Madrid seems like a rather unlikely destination for Salah, given the multiple run-ins between him and Real as part of Liverpool’s UEFA Champions League exploits.
As for Barca, their financial restrictions would surely make it difficult for the Catalan giants to put together a deal that’s remotely close to the salary he’s already earning at Anfield.
Ultimately, it all points to a scenario where Salah remains this term and helps the Reds’ title tilt – unless the money from the Saudi Pro League becomes too steep for him or the club’s American owners to turn down.
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*All odds are correct at time of writing and are subject to change
