When Liverpool confirmed on 11 April that Mo Salah had signed a two-year contract extension, it was greeted with almost as much ecstasy as the Reds’ confirmation as Premier League champions later that month.
The Egyptian had been less than three months away from the expiry of his previous deal until the announcement finally brought an end to a long-running saga which had left Kopites on tenterhooks throughout a hugely successful season on the pitch.
Given the winger’s contribution of 33 goals and 23 assists this term, it would’ve seemed a no-brainer to tie him down without hesitation, but the 32-year-old has now revealed just how doubtful he was that the extension would come.
Salah thought there was only ‘10%’ chance of new Liverpool contract
Salah has given an interview to Gary Neville for Sky Sports in which he was asked for a percentage on how confident he was that he’d stay at Liverpool, and he was remarkably open with his answer.
The Reds’ number 11 candidly replied: “Based on club history? 10%. I’m not attacking them, but the philosophy of the club, I know how they deal with their players over 30 in the past. I knew how the situation would be, so I never expected the club to say ‘OK, here’s two [more] years’.
“I didn’t expect I was going to stay. In my head, based on the club philosophy, I would not stay, because we know how the club works. It’s not something bad. We see how they’ve dealt with a situation like this in the past.
“It took six months for the negotiations to go really quick, and from January things were getting better and better. It took us a while. I think the club was testing me to see if I could still provide or not!”
Salah also revealed that he ‘didn’t want’ an extension of any more than two years at Liverpool.
Salah more than worthy of Liverpool making an exception to contract norms
The 32-year-old has rarely stopped in the post-match media mixed zone throughout his eight years as a Reds player so far, but one notable exception was after the win at Southampton six months ago when he made the alarming declaration regarding his future at Anfield that he was ‘more out than in’.
The forward had hinted for many months that he wanted to stay at Anfield and appeared to be indulging in brinksmanship at every opportunity, having been fully aware of his standing with the supporters and feeling that they’d take his side if it came down to a stand-off between him and FSG.
Salah has been at Liverpool for long enough to realise that it’s not a common occurrence for the hierarchy to hand lucrative contract extensions to players over 30, but so exceptional have been the standards set by him and Virgil van Dijk that those two fully merited a break from convention.
Far from seeing their performances decline with age, that duo both had arguably their best individual season for the Reds in 2024/25, performing to a level which suggests that they’ll be enormously influential for the next couple of years.
Now that we realise just how close the Egyptian King was to leaving Anfield this summer, and safe in the knowledge that he’s staying put until 2027, we can be all the more grateful for him and the captain penning new deals last month. Let’s appreciate every single match that we have with those two club legends in the team.
