Former Liverpool striker Michael Owen claims he knows why negotiations are ongoing over a new contract for Mohamed Salah, with no breakthrough yet regarding a new deal. The Egyptian, of course, spoke out about the situation after netting a brace against Southampton.
“Well, we are almost in December and I haven’t received any offers yet to stay in the club,” Salah told the media after the match at St Mary’s. “I’m probably more out than in. You know I have been in the club for many years. There is no club like this. But in the end it is not in my hands. As I said before, it is December and I haven’t received anything yet about my future.”
“I think fans around the world will be very annoyed at the club,” Owen said on Optus Sport’s YouTube channel. “If that’s the case — and I can’t imagine Mo Salah is gonna lie — it’s really bad from the club’s point of view.
“What I hear is that Salah is wanting a longer-term contract. When you’re young, you want shorter contracts to keep the desirability, but when you’re older, of course, you want stability and to be secure.
“He’s as fit as a fiddle and he’s still banging them in but if he’s asking for five years or something, then rightly so the club will think. My sources tell me that it’s more of a term problem.”
The question for Liverpool is partly how long Salah can maintain his current levels. However, there is also the fact that it would be costlier to try and find a replacement than to keep the Egyptian, even on his substantial wages.
Salah became Liverpool’s highest paid player ever when he penned his last extension in 2022. Like Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold, Salah is out of contract in the summer of 2025 as things stand and can therefore agree a pre-contract with clubs abroad from January 1.
Liverpool.com says: The Reds can’t just pay Salah whatever he wants forever considering the other contracts that need sorting out will use him as a benchmark, but Liverpool equally can’t afford to lose him for nothing. Both sides ultimately want an agreement so you would like to think that there is a compromise that can be reached.
