Liverpool fans are still waiting to discover whether or not Mo Salah will sign a new contract at Anfield, but one report from mainland Europe suggests that a major obstacle to an agreement being reached could now be cleared.
The Egyptian has just under three months remaining on his current deal and, along with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk, is on course to leave Merseyside at the end of this season.
The right-back’s departure for Real Madrid seems inevitable, but the Reds captain said after the defeat to Fulham on Sunday that ‘progress’ is being made in his negotiations, fuelling increased hopes that he’ll still be in Arne Slot’s squad for the 2025/26 campaign.
Salah willing to take pay cut to remain at Liverpool
There has also been a positive development regarding Salah, as per European journalist Sacha Tavolieri, who reported for skysport.ch that the 32-year-old is determined to remain with Liverpool and has ‘agreed to financial concessions’ that club chiefs hadn’t been expecting him to make.
The Reds’ number 11 is prepared to take a slight pay cut in order to secure a longer contract extension and doesn’t envisage himself going anywhere else for the foreseeable future, even rejecting offers from Saudi Arabia which would’ve increased his salary tenfold.
The report also claims that FSG hadn’t initially intended to extend the Egyptian’s stay at Anfield but, with Van Dijk’s future also undecided and Trent seeming likely to depart, they felt that ‘a strong message needed to be sent to the fans’ in terms of a potential renewal for LFC’s third-highest goalscorer of all time.
That could clear a massive hurdle towards a new contract for Salah
For all that’s been said and written about Salah’s contract situation, one fact remains a constant – Liverpool have until 30 June to agree an extension, or else he’ll become a free agent, so time is certainly not on their side to sort out his future.
However, that the forward is prepared to take a reduction on his weekly wage of £350,000 (Capology) – which’d mean that he’s said no to Saudi offers of an eye-watering £3.5m per week, judging by this report – is a telltale sign that he very much wants to stay put, so long as the terms and conditions are right.
The Egyptian may be enduring something of a slump at the moment – he only had one shot in the defeat to Fulham yesterday (which was off-target) and has now scored just twice in his last seven games (both penalties against Southampton) – but keeping him for at least another year or two would be massive for LFC.
If Salah’s wage demands had been a major obstacle towards a renewal being struck, then his reported willingness to compromise in that regard could be crucial in hopefully paving the way for a contract extenstion to be agreed.
Should that happen (likewise with Van Dijk) and Liverpool clinch the Premier League title, there could be multiple causes for great celebration around Merseyside in the next few weeks!
