Mo Salah is said to have held an “intrigue” in joining one of Liverpool’s Premier League rivals if he hadn’t signed a new deal – but his “priority” was Anfield.
As Arne Slot put it on Friday, if Salah had left Liverpool this summer, “as a free agent he could go to probably every club in the world.”
That was the reality facing both those within the club and the player’s agent, Ramy Abbas Issa, who presided over a long and complicated negotiation over his client’s future.
In a lengthy overview of the situation and Salah’s new two-year contract on Friday, The Athletic‘s Simon Hughes ran through the options that were considered.
The Saudi Pro League was seen as a “low-probability destination” at the start of 2025, but by the end of January joining a side in the Middle East was seen as the “only alternative that could satisfy his financial expectations.”
A move to France with Paris Saint-Germain was ruled out because the forward’s “endorsements would take a serious hit” as Ligue 1 “does not have the same global visibility as the Premier League.”
Meanwhile a switch to an MLS club was considered but no approaches were made, and Salah “would not trash his legacy” by joining either Man City or Man United.
But with Abbas “more inclined towards a longer stay in England,” Hughes claims that there was “some intrigue” around Salah rejoining Chelsea.
The 32-year-old spent two-and-a-half years on the books at Chelsea but only played 19 times for the club, with loans at Fiorentina and AS Roma leading to a permanent switch to Rome, which served as a detour to Liverpool.
Hughes writes that “Salah felt as though he still had something to prove at Stamford Bridge,” which was similar to when he returned to the Premier League in 2017.
However, the journalist adds “any deal to go back was reliant on Chelsea abandoning a transfer strategy that focuses on signing young players,” which suggests it was a no-go for Salah and Abbas.
‘Salah’s priority was to re-sign’
It is crucial to point out that the player’s “priority was to re-sign with Liverpool” and that eventually became the reality this week.
Salah’s contract was formally confirmed on Friday morning with unveiling footage filmed at Anfield on Thursday evening.
He will remain the jewel in Liverpool’s crown for two more years, leading a side set to become Premier League champions, rather than potentially joining a side currently 20 points behind in fourth.
