With Al Ittihad making a shocking move for Mohamed Salah of Liverpool, Saudi Arabia’s billion-dollar transfer market assault on the established order of sport has reached a new level.
Fabinho of Liverpool and French talents Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante have already joined for Al Ittihad, one of four clubs owned by the country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), for a combined £40 million this off-season.
However, Salah, an Egyptian who is 31 years old, has been identified as their main target despite Liverpool and Salah earlier in the transfer process rejecting a move.
Ramy Abbas, Salah’s agent, wrote on social media earlier this month: “We wouldn’t have renewed the contract last summer if we thought about leaving LFC this year. Mohamed is still dedicated to LFC.
With two seasons (including this year) left on his reputed deal for roughly £350,000 per week, Salah is the highest-paid player in Liverpool history.
However, the player seems to have been drawn in by the promise of an enormous pay raise.
Salah had “no intention to enter into any negotiations” earlier this month, according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, but Al Ittihad this week significantly increased their offer.
To increase their offer to the player, he continued, “Al Ittihad has proposed a financial package to Mo Salah that is now significantly larger and nearly double the initial offer.”
According to what I’m hearing, Salah’s camp has directly contacted Liverpool to negotiate this, he said, but he said the club’s response was unequivocal: Salah would not be let to leave.
On Thursday, The Athletic reported that Liverpool had informed Al-Ittihad that Salah was “not for sale,” while Sky Sports said the Reds would not sell regardless of the price.
On Friday, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp shot down rumors that Salah would be the newest high-profile player to play football in Saudi Arabia.
During his pre-match press conference prior to Sunday’s trip to Newcastle, Klopp said, “Talk about media stories.”
“Nothing to discuss from my perspective; Mo Salah plays for Liverpool.
Mo Salah is a Liverpool player, in my opinion.
He is, has been, and will continue to be a key player. Nothing is present there. The answer would be no if there existed.
The increased contract is reportedly worth about £65 million ($A127.6 million) over three seasons, without considering bonuses or sponsorships that may increase his earnings over those of Cristiano Ronaldo. According to some reports, the number is significantly greater.
Because the Saudi Pro League’s transfer market is still open until the 20th of September but Liverpool and other English clubs’ transfer windows close on the first, Premier League teams may lose players with no chance to replace them.
Jurgen Klopp, the manager of Liverpool, expressed dissatisfaction with that fact at the beginning of this month.
Jurgen Klopp, the manager of Liverpool, lamented that reality.
At the moment, Saudi Arabia has a significant effect, according to Klopp.
The Saudi Arabian transfer window is now open for an additional three weeks, which is essentially the worst thing. If I recall well, I heard something along those lines, and in Europe at least, that is not beneficial.
“Fifa or EUFA must come up with a fix for that. We already feel its influence, but we still have to adjust to it.
