Mohamed Salah may leave Liverpool this season due of Liverpool’s incompetence.
His contract expires in June, and he now has the opportunity to speak with other teams about a potential free transfer.
The Egyptian winger is Arne Slot’s most significant asset, having scored 37 goals in all competitions this season.
Negotiations with Salah and his agency have been ongoing for several months, but as he has made abundantly obvious in his press interviews, Liverpool is still a long way from striking an agreement to extend his contract.
As a result, discussion has shifted to the various clubs he could join, and while Saudi Arabia is his most likely destination, there are a number of other teams in the region interested in signing him.
The player said, “Salah will join you.”
According to inside sources at Al-Ettifaq, the club has been in talks with Zamalek’s Ahmed Sayed Zizo.
Details of a loan and a permanent offer are included in the negotiations, but a unique surprise is also rumored to have been promised in exchange for Zizo’s services.
According to the report, Al-Ettifaq told Zizo during the discussions that they intend to sign Mohamed Salah from Liverpool at the end of the current season.
“Al-Ettifaq’s management informed Zizo of their intention to submit an official offer to sign Mohamed Salah for free at the end of the season when his contract with English club Liverpool expires.”
The authenticity and veracity of this claim should be regarded with a grain of salt, since it appears unlikely that Al-Ettifaq has the ability to sign Salah given how much his contract is rumored to be worth.
Furthermore, the promise of future recruitment to a player can be an effective negotiating weapon, and the veracity of the assertion should be questioned.
And, while the prospect of Salah joining ex-Liverpool veteran Steven Gerrard in Saudi Arabia is surely appealing to the Egyptian, the financial implications of such a trade make it unlikely to happen.
Meanwhile, Al-Hilal is another Saudi club that Salah has been linked with, and they are owned by the Saudi state – directly funded by the country’s Public Investment Fund – so they would almost certainly have an advantage over the winger because they have the financial resources to give him what he wants.
Of course, Liverpool will still fancy their chances of keeping Salah on Merseyside, and no formal move will take place until the summer, but given that he can negotiate his own terms with teams, the level of talk over his future is unlikely to subside anytime soon.
